Haunted
by Junsui Kegasu
Summary: When all else seems lost, especially his relationship with his boyfriend, Neji, Gaara finds comfort in his closest friend, Kankurou. KankyGaa, NejiGaa. Alternate Universe. Chapter Eleven: Citrus! warning.
1. Just an Average Winter Night

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: THAT'S IT! THAT'S **IT!** I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! I NEED KANKYGAA AND I AM GONNA GET KANKYGAA! After MUCH internal struggle, you are FINALLY getting Haunted. And it's coming out before LaF is finished. Just as a note, Kanky and Gaara are NOT brothers in this, which definitely defeats the purpose of Sandcest, but whatever.

A/N that's on the paper most of this is written on: Hee…due to some encouragement from both spork ai and Kanky-chan, I have decided to begin my KankyGaa epic! (triumphant music) 'Cept, at the moment, I'm writing it in school. During World Studies. SNORE! Anyways. Here ya go. Oh! And before I forget! Here's a list of ages:

Kankurou – 20  
Gaara – 18  
Neji – 19  
Temari – 21  
Shikamaru – 21

Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing this if I owned it! n.n;;

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

Kankurou was dead tired. He had just got back from a double-shift at the café he worked for, and he was beat. The first thing he had done upon walking in the door of his apartment was make a bee-line to the couch and (with his jacket and shoes still on) collapsed onto it. 

Shivering slightly, he thought, 'If I don't fix the space heater, it's gonna be warmer outside than it is in here. I'll do it…later.' And with that conclusion, Kankurou fell asleep.

He hadn't been asleep for more than three hours when a loud thump sounded. Being an extraordinarily light sleeper, this of course snapped the young man to awareness. He found himself opening the door, but wasn't completely awake until he saw just what had waked him.

Blinking the bright light from his darkness-adjusted vision, he saw a crumpled figure. A rather familiar crumpled figure.

"HOLY SHIT, GAARA?" he screeched. A couple doors opened, bearing angry, sleepy residents. Apologizing sheepishly, he pulled the obviously-injured redhead into his apartment.

He waited until closing the door before thoroughly inspecting the unconscious Gaara. The actual beating hadn't been severe; Kankurou had seen him in worse condition. He did, however, notice that the barely-legal adult was wearing no jacket…or footwear.

He sighed. It was the middle of January – 1 week after Gaara's 18th birthday. The younger man had, as long as Kankurou had known him, always had a weak immune system. Putting two and two together, he knew Gaara was almost definitely going to get sick, if he wasn't already.

It must've been precipitating (Kankurou couldn't tell if it was rain, snow, or sleet) since Gaara's clothes were soaked through. He'd have to change him into dry clothes.

Getting close enough to peel away the dark blue shirt, Kankurou's sensitive nose picked up the stench of alcohol. He frowned. Gaara was a generally law-abiding individual. It would be another two years before the redhead could legally drink. That meant his bastard of a boyfriend was all over him when he was drunk.

Again.

Sighing again, (he noticed he did that a lot in these situations) he surveyed the damage done to the smaller man's torso. Nothing looked broken; Kankurou could easily (and worriedly) see most of his ribs. There were a few cuts and already-bruising areas, but he was mostly alright.

It was then he noticed the blood seeping into the light-blue carpet around Gaara's head. Panicking, he abandoned his previous observations to gently lift the teen's head and inspect it.

There was a large, still bleeding cut at the back of his skull. Kankurou expected that to be the cause of his oblivion and gently set Gaara's head down again to go search for bandages.

Before he could leave, however, a tiny whimper alerted him back to Gaara.

"Gaara…?" he asked the stirring figure.

"Mm…N-neji…"

Kankurou frowned. He REALLY regretted granting that prick permission to date the teen he considered his baby brother. "No…not Neji…Kankurou." He said, gently. "And I'll be right back, okay?" he wasn't really sure if Gaara could hear him, but that was okay.

When he didn't get a response, he quickly made his way to the bathroom and pulled out a roll of bandages from the medicine cabinet. When he returned, Gaara had curled up on his side and was whimpering gently.

Another nightmare. He wasn't sure what plagued the teen more, his father's screams or his abusive boyfriend.

He gently lifted Gaara's head and, noting that he calmed down at the simple touch, wiped away some of the blood with his sleeve. He had forgotten to grab a cloth. He felt the redhead wince, and mentally apologized.

Dressing the wound, he sat back and admired his work. He had been sure to let red bangs overlap the white bandages, since Gaara hated when his hair got into his eyes. He just never bothered cutting it.

Kankurou knew why.

"_You look pretty with your hair long like that, Koibito-chan." _

Him. Neji. Gaara's boyfriend. It was at times like these when Kankurou hated the younger man with a passion. He had seemed so adoring of Gaara at first…Kankurou didn't know what had happened.

But he wouldn't think about Neji right now. Lifting Gaara into his arms, he transported the lightweight man to the couch, which was probably more comfortable than the floor.

'He looks so…cute when he's sleeping.' He thought dreamily.

Wait a second! Gaara? Cute? He hadn't thought his best friend 'cute' since the boy was five, when they had first met. And back then, it had been absolutely true, with his messy red hair and big, green eyes.

That was before he started putting on eye liner, which was a habit he had picked up in 7th grade. 7th grade also had determined Gaara's sexuality as gay. Kankurou didn't really care; he was still undecided. He had never really…liked someone. He didn't count his hormone induced lusts as 'liking someone', because that wasn't his mind thinking, it was his penis!

And here he was, calling the sleeping eighteen year old in front of him cute. That didn't really disturb him, and he found that he really didn't care. Gaara WAS cute. End of story.

A glance at the clock told him that it was 12:30 in the morning, and since his shifts were messed up (or his boss hated him) he needed to be into work at 4:30 A.M. But he didn't really like the idea of Gaara sleeping unwatched with a head injury. He had been aware of cases of death because of sleeping with a bad head injury.

He didn't know what he'd do if Gaara were to die. He was his best friend for 13 years, and he would never be able to get over his death knowing it was because he wasn't paying attention to his health.

Oh, well. After tonight's events, chances were, he probably wouldn't be sleeping anyways. Oh, how he hated insomnia. He knew Gaara had it too, though, worse than him, so he bit his tongue.

And of course, since life officially hated him, tonight happened to be the night when his most recent insomniac bout ended. If he didn't sleep, he'd fall asleep at work. And that was bad.

…But Gaara's health felt more important to him.

…But he needed the money very badly.

Scowling, he scooped up the slumbering teen and made his way into the bedroom. His bed was big enough for the two of them; he'd just sleep close enough to hear if anything was irregular with his heart or breathing.

Apparently, this time around, Gaara wasn't such a light sleeper.

"Mm? Mama?" were the first words, mumbled and heavy with sleep that left his mouth.

"Nah. Nice guess though."

"O-oh! Kankurou! How did…oh, never mind, I remember," he trailed off, and looked down.

"…Kankurou, why am I shirtless?"

Oh yeah. He hadn't finished changing Gaara into dry clothes.

"You were soaking wet. Are your pants still wet?"

"Nn…yeah." Came the reply after a moment. He knew that Gaara had difficulty accepting kindness, and he always felt undeserving. Even with a wonderful mother, it had always been in his nature.

"Alright. Do you mind borrowing any clothes from me? And are you hungry? When did you last eat?" Kankurou knew he was firing off questions, but he knew Gaara would answer them all easily.

"W-well…I mean…I'd hate to just take your clothes…you know the chances of you getting them back, unharmed especially, are very slim…and I ate…uhm…I ate…" Gaara was fumbling for an excuse there.

"…Gaara, has Neji been feeding you right?"

"Of course!"

Kankurou waited a moment.

"…No…"

He sighed. "Gaara, you're a horrible liar. You really need to work on speaking your mind more, too. Now, are you hungry?"

Again, he waited. He knew Gaara was probably having an internal struggle, his mind deciding whether or not it was 'hungry'. Before the smaller man had a chance to answer, however, his stomach emitted a noise that Kankurou thought was only possible in anime.

"Alright, so first, you get dry clothes, and then you're gonna eat something. Okay?"

"Ah! I'm de-" Gaara stopped there, giving up. "…Fine…" he deadpanned a moment later.

"Good, because you know me. I don't take 'no' for an answer." Kankurou said with a bit of humor, setting Gaara down on his bed to look for a pair of pajama pants that would somewhat fit the boy. Drawstrings bothered him, so he always threw them out, never needing them, but Gaara was a lot smaller than him, so finding him a pair of pants that would fit would prove to be difficult.

He finally found a pair, at the bottom of his drawer, that his mother had sent him, but he had never worn. They were bright yellow with a lot of happy faces. Usually preferring darker colors, Kankurou had shoved it into the bottom of his drawer, not even bothering to remove the drawstrings.

Well, that would work out just fine. Plus, bright colors just made the shy redhead look cuter.

…Dear gods, there was something wrong with him.

And he didn't care.

He tossed the offending-colored pants at the small figure on his bed, smiling when they landed on his spiky, bandaged head and pulled out a sweatshirt. Then he stopped to think.

"Hey, are you cold?"

Before Gaara had a chance to lie, as Kankurou knew he would, he sneezed violently, blinking, and then blushing, which Kankurou couldn't see in the darkness.

"…Yeah…I figured that was gonna happen. Alright. I have no heat here right now, so you're going to have to deal with hoodies that you can practically drown in, alright?"

Gaara nodded slowly and accepted the shirt, slipping it on over his now visibly trembling frame and getting to work at peeling his wet, faded blue jeans that only had hopes of staying up because of a belt. Kankurou left the room to give him some privacy, though he knew Gaara didn't care, and set to work at finding something edible.

Since he was putting in a lot of overtime, he was hardly ever home. Especially when his insomnia got bad, he was nearly a workaholic. Sometimes, he'd work nonstop for days if he had to. His boss tended to restrict him from doing that. ("You know, I have OTHER employees, Kankurou.")

Either way, he hardly ate at home, so he hardly had any food at home. This was not good. He knew just by how badly Gaara had tried to cover it up that the redhead probably hadn't eaten in a while, and being the concerned friend he was, he'd feel horrible if he didn't get anything into the younger boy's system.

As he was scouring the refrigerator, he felt Gaara come up to him. Inwardly smirking he recalled how long it had taken him to get used to the boy's stealth inclination. All throughout middle school when they would meet each other at their lockers, it had scared him. But now, both boys out of high school, he was more than a little used to it.

"Mm…Gaara, the only thing I think I got in here is some spoiled milk. Which is going in the garbage right now." Kankurou picked up the carton and tossed it in the trashcan, which was full to the maximum. He kept missing trash-day because he was at work, but he had a feeling that his boss was going to order him a block of days off, so he would be sure to take care of the pesky chore then.

"If there isn't anything, I'll be okay…really." Gaara said, trying to sound reassuring. This was difficult and unsuccessful because his voice was small and quiet, as it had always been.

Kankurou turned to face him, and almost had to repress an "Awww!". While Gaara had been able to pull the drawstrings so they fit, somewhat, he was over a foot shorter than Kankurou, and the legs dragged on the floor around him, pooling around his feet. That was probably good, since Kankurou knew from experience that his feet were a helluva lot bigger than Gaara's, too, and lending him socks would've probably been impossible. The shirt hung off his thin frame and made it all the way to his knees, the sleeves coming at least six inches past his hands.

Kankurou should've known better than to give him clothing that still fit HIM.

Collecting himself, he shook his head. "No, Gaara, seriously, when was the last time you ate?"

The younger's response was hesitant, and when he did speak, it was so quiet and mumbled that Kankurou barely made it out.

"Four days. Gaara, _four days_?"

Instinctively, the redhead flinched, apologizing weekly. Kankurou sighed, and embraced him gently. "Gaara…Gaara, you got to leave him!" he cried, keeping him close.

Gaara completely broke down, shaking his head against Kankurou's chest, and sobbing freely.

"I c-can't, K-kankurou! I…I l-love him!" he managed in between heart-wrenching sobs.

Kankurou just held him tighter, rocking slightly. This wasn't all that unusual in the slightest; it had usually been Kankurou that Gaara turned to whenever his father started yelling.

It took three years of arguments and screaming before his mother left that man, after he had hit her and Gaara in a drunken rage.

"Shh…I know you do," he said softly, rubbing soothing circles on the younger man's back. He wasn't done yet.

"Why? Why, Kankurou? Why doesn't he love m-me back?" and then he erupted into a coughing fit so violent that it scared Kankurou.

"B-breathe, Gaara…breathe….I don't know why he doesn't love you…I really don't…" he confessed, feeling ready to cry, himself.

No, he wouldn't cry. He COULDN'T cry. He needed to be strong. For Gaara's sake if not his own.

* * *

HA! I STARTED IT. I STAAARTED IT! O.O; Okay, I'm better now. I swear. Reviews are appreciated and I'll lubb you if you do. Also, this is not completely mine. Well, okay, it is, but a lot of stuff, especially Kanky telling Gaara he needs to speak his mind more is in The Godly RP Kanky-chan and I do online. I live for da RP, yo! 

Yeah, I did promise her some credit for this too (even though she was kidding XD) so nyah.


	2. What has Life Become?

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I return! I am SO inspired right now for no reason, I swear. I was just so mad yesterday when there was no KankyGaa, so I was like "POSTING. NOW. I DON'T CARE!" And yeah. Viva la Haunted. Excuse my probably horrible French. O.o

Oh, and as I'm typing this, the theme song for this story is playing! (twilight zone music) Haunted by Evanescence. If you haven't heard it, here are the lyrics. It's more a song from Gaara to Neji, I guess. (trying to waste space 9.9)

**"Haunted"**

Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
Still can't find what keeps me here  
When all this time I've been so hollow inside  
(I know you're still there)

Watching me, wanting me  
I can feel you pull me down  
Fearing you loving you  
I won't let you pull me down

Hunting you I can smell you - alive  
Your heart pounding in my head

Watching me, wanting me  
I can feel you pull me down  
Saving me, raping me, watching me

Watching me, wanting me  
I can feel you pull me down  
Fearing you... loving you  
I won't let you pull me down

Although, I'm not raping Gaara in this. Nope. Not this time!

**NOTE! **Flashbacks are in italicized font. Temari and Kankurou are related, but Gaara isn't. I have named Gaara's mother Kasuka and his father Shichi. They needed names.

Disclaimer: F. U. (angry face) (I hate disclaimers. Grr…)

* * *

Crying, Kankurou decided, was not the best thing for Gaara to have done. It had only succeeded in making the younger man sicker, and he was afraid of going to work and leaving him alone. 

Again, he looked at the phone in his hands. All he had to do was ask his boss if he could start at 12:30 PMinstead of 4:30 AM – the shift he was supposed to start at. He knew that the man he worked for, Morino Ibiki did not tolerate skipping days, although he did think Kankurou needed more off days. So, he concluded, he could get Temari to watch him when he went to work.

That thought made him feel horrible. Like he was purposely trying to get Gaara babysat, which he wasn't. But, from experience with Gaara's weak immune system, leaving him home alone when he was running a fever of 103, no matter how old he was, was a bad idea.

_

* * *

Sirens. That's all he heard. He didn't know where they were coming from, but they scared him. _

_"'Ri? 'Ri-chan? Wh-what's going on?"_

_His older sister forced a smile._

_"N-nuffin, Kanky-kun"_

_"Then why are there sirens? And why's Kasuka-chan crying?"_

_Temari sighed. The eight-year-old was too smart for his own good._

_"Because Gaara-chan got sick. Really sick."_

_"But wasn't Kasuka-chan there? She always makes sure he gets better." Kankurou frowned. Kasuka-chan ALWAYS was sure to take care of Gaara! Always!_

_"No…she was at work…she couldn't get out of it, they said."_

_"Oh…so, is Gaara-chan really sick because Kasuka-chan wasn't there to take care of him?" A horrible thought crossed the eight-year-old's mind. "Is Gaara-chan gonna DIE?"_

_"NO! No! Th-they're gonna save him!" Temari exclaimed, hugging Kankurou tightly. "They're gonna make him all better!"_

* * *

He sighed, remembering that day. Gaara had been home sick with the flu, and his mother couldn't get out of work. Her boss was a very religious man, Jehovah's Witness. (I know people of this religion, and I know that they can get really strict about stuff like this. Do not flame me and say that I'm offending said religion, because I'm not trying to.) He didn't like it that she had divorced her husband and was completely independent, being both old-fashioned and strongly religious. He wouldn't tolerate anything like asking for a sick day. 

She didn't want to leave her six year old alone, but she couldn't risk losing her job, being a single parent. She had only been separated from Gaara's father for a few weeks, and they were both still adjusting to the new environment. So, she had chosen work, calling every two hours or so to make sure her six year old was okay.

The last call before her lunch break, which was just before she was coming home, Gaara hadn't picked up the phone. She had been worried, but told herself that maybe the boy was just sleeping. He needed all the rest he could get.

In truth, he had slipped into a coma and had been running a fever of 106 by the time had got there. She hadn't known about the coma, but his fever was high enough to scare her into calling 911.

Kankurou hadn't thought about it since that day, but he would've died had the paramedics been later. He glanced down at the completely out of it teen in his arms, and back at the phone.

He wasn't going to let what happened all those years ago repeat. It had scared everyone. Hugging the dazed boy slightly, he dialed the number of the café.

"Maoshimao Café, how can I be of service?" The voice was tired, as if he'd been working all night. Kankurou recognized it almost instantly.

"Hey, Kakashi, is Ibiki in?"

He could almost see the silver haired man scratch his ear and look around, like he always did.

"Nah. Not yet. He isn't coming in 'till 4:30."

Kankurou glanced at the clock. 3:30. "Oh. Well, who can I talk to in order to get a day off?" Never doing this before, he didn't really know whom he could talk to if Ibiki wasn't there.

He heard something that sounded like coffee being spit out in surprise. "Wait, wait, this is_ Kankurou_?"

"Uh…yeah. Last time I checked."

"_You_ want a day off?"

"Uh…yeah."

"_WHY_? Kankurou, you NEVER want a day off. EVER." He could practically see the one eye Kakashi kept visible through his hair widen in shock.

"Because…I have a friend who came over late last night and he got real sick and I don't wanna leave him alone."

"Kankurou, we're all adults here!"

"…Kakashi, why are you complaining that I'm asking for a day off?"

"I'm not, I'm not. Alright. I'll tell Ibiki that you called in for a…"

"No, no, I don't want the entire day off. Can I come at 12:30 instead of 4:30?"

"Kankurou, you are SUCH a workaholic."

"I need the money, what can I say?" he said, sheepishly.

"K-kank'rou…"

The slurred speech turned his attention to Gaara, who sat leaning his entire weight on him. He didn't weigh a lot, so he really didn't mind. Plus, the redhead didn't seem like he could support his own weight right now.

"K-kank'rou…please…please don't ch-change your schedule f-for me…"

He sounded so pathetic. That only strengthened Kankurou's decision to stay with him until Temari could watch him. "No, Gaara, I'm not leaving you home alone like this. And you're not going back to Neji's until you're better."

He heard Kakashi on the other line. "Eh? Kankurou? Did you hear me?"

"No, sorry, could you repeat that?"

He heard a crash that sounded like the older man had fallen off his chair. "I SAID you could come in at 12:30 if you really wanted, and Ibiki will call you if he thinks otherwise when he gets here, aight?"

"Alright. Thanks Kakashi."

"Bye, you ass."

"…" he was about to question the insult, but Kakashi had hung up on him. He shrugged. That was okay. Kakashi was probably just tired. Not everyone had insomnia.

He looked back down at Gaara. The younger man had said that the chances were he wasn't going to fall asleep, but his eyes were drooping shut now. Kankurou wasn't sure, though, it might've been an effect from his fever. Just like how his face was flushed and the rest of his skin seemed paler than usual.

Sighing, Kankurou decided to watch television quietly, seeing as he really couldn't move from his spot with Gaara attached to him. Not like he minded, or anything.

'Okay, mind, this is getting very random. Do I really like Gaara in…that way?' he asked himself, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. Unlike Gaara in his younger teens, he wasn't schizophrenic.

Remembering it, he nearly shuddered. It had really scared him when the younger boy would talk to himself and hear things that had never been spoken. He was glad Gaara was over it.

He watched some mindless movie where these two African American men dressed up as blondes and tried to win some contest.

Stupid.

But it took up time, and he'd rather keep his mind on that than other things right now. Partway through the movie, at around 5:00, he noticed that Gaara had fallen asleep on him, his breathing even, but shallow. He was also shivering gently in his sleep, despite the too-big hoodie and blanket that had pooled around his waist.

He picked up the teen gently and set him on the couch, tucking in the blanket around his thin frame and deciding that now was a good time to start working on fixing the space heater.

* * *

Not very technologically advanced, it had taken Kankurou three hours to finally get the small contraption to do its job right. By then, sunlight had flooded most of the rooms, although it was still cold. Setting it up by where Gaara was on his couch, he realized that he still hadn't called Temari and her fiance, Shikamaru. Shikamaru was also aware of Gaara's situation with Neji, and Temari had been not quite as close to the redhead as Kankurou, but nearly there, so she knew everything as well. 

Not really caring about the fact that his older sister was DEFINITELY not awake yet, he pulled out the phone again, and checking to make sure Gaara was still asleep, dialed Temari's number.

He got the machine.

"Hey, Tem', it's me. Uh, I-"

Midway through the message, someone picked up. "Hey, Kankurou."

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Out of all of Temari's high school boyfriends, Shikamaru had been the only one that Kankurou had remotely liked. He was very pleased when she chose to marry him because of the fact they got along so well.

"So, what's up? Why are you calling this early? You know that we hate mornings!"

"Yeah, but I kind of have an urgent thing…"

It must've been the tone of his voice, because all jest dropped from Shikamaru's. "Oh…what's up?"

"Well…" Kankurou contemplated how much he should tell him. "Uh…Gaara kind of came in last night…and he got real sick and I don't wanna leave him alone."

In the background, he could hear another voice. "Is that Temari?"

"Yeah. Here, talk to her about this; I need to get ready for work. My shift is at nine."

'…Why the heck was he still asleep, then?' Kankurou pushed the thought aside.

"Kankurou?"

"Hey, Temari."

"Oh! Hi! God, you haven't called in so long!" she almost started rambling about how they hadn't seen each other in 'forever', but Kankurou cut her off.

"I kind of have a situation…"

"What…kind of situation?" she sounded worried.

"Oh, it's not that bad, but Gaara came in last night real late and he got really sick and I don't want to leave him alone, but I have to get to work at 12:30. Do you think you could watch him for me? I hate to sound like he needs a babysitter but…" he trailed off. Temari remembered what had happened. She had been just as scared as him.

"Oh…oh…yeah, I'm not working today, I'll come over! Do you want me over now or just when you leave?"

"Mm…whatever works for you. He's sleeping right now, which is a good thing. His insomnia is worse than mine."

He could practically see her nodding vigorously in that 'Temari-way' she always did. "Mhm, sleep is good for him! Oh…I haven't seen Gaara-chan in so long! Longer than you! It'll be good to see him again, even if he is sick. Alright. You still live at the same place?"

"Of course. I'm working on getting enough money to move out, though, so I'm putting in a lot of overtime at the café. You should stop by sometime."

"Sure! I'd love to! Alright, I'll be right over."

"Okay, thanks Temari."

He hung up and almost smiled. His sister was still the same as ever. That was good. As a teenager, it had been his greatest fear that when they all grew up, they would change and stray from each other. They really hadn't. Temari and him just didn't see as much of each other as they would've liked. It was okay, because when they did see each other, it was like nothing had ever changed.

Temari didn't see much of Gaara at all, but she was always willing and glad to do so. Kankurou had kept very close contact with the boy, and vowed to let him stay with him if Neji got too rough.

Gaara's mother didn't know about what Neji did to her son. All she knew is that they were together. Every so often, she'd visit him, Gaara said, but it wasn't a lot, and she wished that her son would move back in with her.

Gaara said that he didn't want to get in the way of her job, and his mother, being in the same mind-frame, protested until they got nowhere and Gaara still lived with Neji. That's just how it was.

He smiled gently when one of Gaara's small, pale hands made a tiny fist in the blanket. He looked so much younger than eighteen when he slept. So much more peaceful.

A knock sounded at the door. Kankurou moved from his place in the living-room to the door, opening it and letting Temari come in.

"Hey. He's asleep on the couch." He said, quietly.

Temari nodded and removed her shoes and jacket, quietly taking a peek in. "Oh, wow…he doesn't look a day older than 15…He's still so small…"

Kankurou nodded in agreement. "You can watch TV, watch him, do whatever you want. Make yourself at home." He said casually. "It's only about 8:15, and I don't need to go anywhere 'till about noon, so feel free to do whatever you want."

Temari nodded, apparently content with staring at the redhead's sleeping frame. After a moment, of silence, she spoke again. "He's too thin…" she whispered.

Kankurou sighed. "I know he is. There isn't really anything I can do about it, either. He's told me that Neji, the bastard, is convinced he's fat, so he's trying to keep himself in check."

Temari shook her head. "That boy…he's way too concerned about what people think of him sometimes…like now." She said sadly.

"It's always been like that. High school just made it acute." Kankurou explained.

"Speaking of, isn't Gaara still in school?" Now she was just trying to make small talk and catch up whatever she had missed.

"No. High school was seriously doing nothing for him. He did the work just fine, and it bored him. He talked to his mom about that and she let him drop out a little before his 17th birthday. That's when he moved in with Neji." He felt a fist clench at the mention of the boy. Gaara wouldn't leave him, no, but if the man was going to hit him, why didn't he just break up with the younger teen? It didn't make sense. He obviously didn't want anything romantic out of Gaara.

"What about Neji? Wouldn't Neji have been in high school too? Didn't he go to school with us?" she asked, frowning at the probable answer.

"Neji dropped out too. When he was sixteen, so before he met Gaara. He met Gaara about a month after Gaara turned sixteen and then everything just kind of happened and they were happy back then." Kankurou said somberly.

Temari gave the sleeping figure a sad smile. "Yeah…Hey, when he wakes up, he's gonna need something to eat. Do you have chicken soup or anything?" she asked, changing the subject.

'…Crap.' He hadn't managed to go out and get anything. "I've been doing so much overtime lately, there is nothing edible in this apartment to eat. I can go out and get groceries, if you want."

"Yeah, that'll work. Uh, he's going to want something like chicken soup because he's sick."

".…and because he hasn't eaten in four days." Kankurou said bitterly. "Neji's fault, I can imagine."

Temari's eyes widened. "Oh…boy…you go really fast with those groceries!"

"He probably won't be awake anyways, but I will. I'll pick up some coffee-to-go too, alright?" His insomnia had caught up with him and now the only way he'd be able to stay awake was with a good, strong cup of coffee.

"Yeah, coffee would be nice. Thank ototo-chan!" she said as he walked out the door, trying to bring more cheer into the apartment.

Sighing, she turned back to Gaara, watching him sleep.

'What has life become?'

* * *

Wh00t! I am SO good! I'm updating so quickly it's not even funny. It's like…magical. Alright, next, I'm to work on the 18th chapter of LaF and then I'll get to the third one of this, alright? 

With all this chapter stuff, when am I gonna have time to get my Gaara costume ready? .

Oh, random reviews that I HAVE to answer.

**Kanky-chan** – My sanity? Dude, that was loooong gone. I'm friends with SAM and…(kind of) related to YOU! Dwindling sleep time? INSOMNIA ENDED LAST NIGHT! YAAAAAY! GO HAVING HALF YOUR BLOODSTREAM SUCKED OUT BY MOSQUITOS! Alright, I'm better.

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black** – The story behind that (and I'm not sure if I'll actually explain it, so I'll tell you) is that Neji had called Gaara fat in a drunken rage and told him he didn't like fat boyfriends and he would leave him. This scared Gaara and while Neji obviously wouldn't feed him, he made no attempt to feed himself either, because he really loves Neji and even though he hits him, he would never leave him.


	3. Shower Musings

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I have the most random urge to change my penname to Procrastinating Fairy. What do you think? AIM didn't like it, soooo…yeah.

Disclaimer: ……………………

* * *

When Gaara woke up, Kankurou still hadn't returned with groceries. Temari had been in the other room, trying to disprove Kankurou's statement of there being absolutely nothing edible in the house. 

Yawning, Gaara tried to get up, but found he had no strength and couldn't. Slightly miffed, he tried again, and fell off the couch, creating a semi-loud crash.

Temari rushed out, alerted by the noise. "Gaara! Gaara, what are you _doing?_"

"I-I was trying t-to get up," he stammered, face flushed both from fever and embarrassment.

"Well, don't, okay? You're really sick. I don't want you getting sicker." She said, coming over and lifting him back onto the couch. "When Kankurou comes back with groceries, you'll get something to eat."

"…" He hadn't known Temari was coming. "T-temari…it's nice to see you." He managed, pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it?" she said cheerfully, tucking him back in. "Nearly a year. How are things going?"

Gaara looked away. "Fine."

Temari frowned. Gaara's eyes said everything about him, and it made him a horrible liar. That's why he had averted his gaze.

"Gaara, you don't have to lie to me." She said slowly.

Gaara frowned. "How did you know I was lying? Why am I that easy?" He sounded so depressed.

"I don't know…but it's okay. Lying…lying isn't always fun, Gaara." she said, trying to assure him.

Gaara made a small noise and turned onto his side, with difficulty, sighing. Biting her lip, Temari looked away, unable to see the happy, young child she had once knew like this.

It was then that Kankurou decided to kick open the door, arms laden in grocery bags. "Hey, Tem. There's more in the car. Did he wake up?"

"He's awake now. I'll get the rest. Just put all those on the table." She said, sounding more and more like a wife or a mother. Exiting the room, she made her way downstairs as quickly as possible to gather the remainder of the groceries.

Kankurou made his way over to the couch, for a moment just looking at Gaara's hoodie-clad back.

"Hey, kid, you feeling any better?" he hoped this comment would get Gaara to turn to him, even if it was just to remind him that he wasn't a kid anymore.

He got nothing but a small noise that could've been a yes or a no. Frowning, Kankurou moved closer. "Can I take your temperature?"

Gaara seemed to think about this, and then rolled onto his back, sighing deeply. "I…hate being this weak…" he mumbled, probably to himself more than Kankurou.

"Well, that's okay right now. I don't mind taking care of you." Kankurou assured him, walking out of the room. He came back with a fresh set of bandages and a thermometer. "I'm going to look at the cut at the back of your head, too, alright?"

"What cut?" Gaara looked very confused.

"There's a huge gash on the back of your head. You don't remember it happening?" That could either be good or bad.

"Not really. Neji had a knife, but I didn't think he got me in the back of the head." How could anyone say that so casually? 'Oh, my boyfriend was waving a knife around in my face. No big deal.' That's basically what he was saying.

"Oh. Well, the bandage probably needs to be changed anyways. You were bleeding all over the floor last night." Kankurou explained, gently lifting Gaara's head to untie the bandage. He set the younger man in a half sitting position and looked the cut over. It was beginning to scab over, and didn't look like it was infected. That was good. Rebinding his head, Kankurou let him lay back down, then pulled out a thermometer and held it near Gaara's mouth.

"I hate thermometers…" Gaara mumbled, but took the instrument in his mouth anyways, being sure to keep it under his tongue.

Kankurou bit his lip and waited. He hoped it hadn't gone up. It was already rather high; any higher and there was a possibility of brain damage. About a minute later, he gently removed the thing from Gaara's mouth and held it at eye-level.

Eyeballing it, he determined that Gaara was probably around 102. That was good; he had gone down, then. Smiling gently, he ruffled Gaara's fluffy hair.

"Hey, you went down. That's good. All right, Temari should be up here by now, unless she forgot where I lived, so I'm going to go help her, and then you're getting something to eat. No ifs ands or buts." He said sternly, knowing that if he didn't, Gaara would protest.

"…Fine…" he said quietly, turning his head to face the back of the couch. He looked so small, so vulnerable.

Like something he would like to protect.

* * *

At 12:30, Kankurou left the house, leaving Temari and Gaara alone. After his breakfast of eggs and sausage, which Kankurou made sure he got heaping helpings of, Gaara had taken another nap, and hadn't reawakened until 1:30. 

The first thing he noticed in the realm of consciousness was that Temari had fallen asleep, leaving him to his thoughts. He really had to go to the bathroom, so he pushed himself up a little, managing to support his slight weight using the armrest of the couch, and with his support, managed to pull himself into a sitting position.

He frowned when he had to pause to catch his breath. If there was ever something he had hated, it was being weak. He wasn't allowed to be weak; he had to help take care of his mom! His dad certainly hadn't done a good job, so he had to do it for him.

What little energy he possessed back, Gaara swung his legs off the edge of the couch, frowning when his feet just barely touched the floor. He hated being short. But, there was really nothing he could do about it; it was on both sides of his genetic makeup.

Now came the hard part. Again using the armrest of the couch, Gaara pushed himself into a standing position, having to clutch his support with both hands. After a moment, he cautiously removed one hand, and then the other, testing his weight on both feet.

His legs trembled, but they didn't buckle. Pleased, Gaara took a tentative first step; a tiny little thing that required his hand darting back to the armrest for support. When he didn't stumble, he again removed his hand and took another, pausing. He felt dizzy, like he had stood up too fast, which he definitely hadn't. Slowly, he made his way across the room, keeping his gaze on Temari in case she woke up and saw him awake and mobile.

Now, if he remembered correctly, the bathroom was right next to the bedroom. Finding the room, he pushed the door open and was pleased when he recognized the bathroom.

See? He _could _be independent. He'd be absolutely fine, and he'd prove that to Kankurou and Temari.

Upon seeing the small, sliding glass door shower stall (You know the kind. The really small ones that have _no_ lying down room whatsoever! Grrr…those are the kind I _hate._ Kanky-chan knows how long I can take showers! Especially if I can lie down!) Gaara decided a shower might be a good idea, too. He slipped off Kankurou's hoodie and got to work at his other clothing.

Within moments, he had done his business and stepped into the shower stall, relishing in the warm, cleansing stream of water. He closed his eyes and suddenly losing his strength due to the heat, leaned against the cool, steamy glass.

_Neji…_

That's all he could think about. He really did love the slightly older boy. When they had first met, he had seemed to draw Gaara into him like a moth to light. Neji _was _his light. Something about the dark haired, rebellious boy had appealed to him; how, despite his parents' wishes that he become a doctor, he had dropped out of high school and moved out, living on his own.

So, naturally, it was no problem at all for Gaara to move in with him. At first, his mother had been slightly upset. She didn't want to see her one and only baby disappear into the world just yet. It was hard for her to let go. Finally, after much gentle coaxing – Gaara couldn't ever bring himself to yell at his kind-hearted mother, or anyone else for that matter – she had let him go.

Even though the situation wasn't exactly the greatest, he was still grateful for her permission. He, like his mother, god bless her, had a very soft heart, and if he would've moved in without her consent, guilt would've plagued him for eternity. Even now, he felt guilty about not seeing her, or telling her about he and Neji's current situation.

How could he? She'd only worry, and Gaara hated worrying people. As it was, he hated himself for worrying Kankurou like he did. He loved the boy, him being his only friend for so long, but worrying him wasn't part of Gaara's code for friendship.

Obviously, it was on Kankurou's, because whenever Gaara had tried to bring this up, he was faced with the same answer.

"_Gaara, I worry about you because I care. I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't worry."_

He had been telling him that for years. Even before Neji. Back during the short time he had known him, when he and his mother still lived with his father.

His thoughts riveting from Neji, he thought about how long it had been since he'd seen him. After the divorce, he had still tried to keep contact. It had been hard though, his father hadn't really been fond of him. He wasn't good with children; it had been Kasuka pestering him to have a child.

She was the one he had loved. He probably still did, but his mother refused to take any abuse like that, and got them out as soon as the signs led them that way.

Snapping back to reality, he coughed once when he breathed in a little too much shower mist. Realizing he still needed to wash his hair, and that the temperature had gone from extreme heat to a mediocre lukewarm (for him, anyways) he decided it'd be best to get a move on.

When he stepped out, he grabbed a towel and began to dry himself off. It was then he realized that he hadn't removed the bandages, which were now soaked through. Kankurou probably kept more in here; he could do it himself.

Once he was dry to his standards, Gaara wrapped the towel around his waist and dug through the medicine cabinet. He found some eyeliner, which he kept out, not particularly feeling up to showing off his wonderful insomniac bags to Temari, who would only worry.

He looked further, and then realized that they probably weren't way in the back because Kankurou had used them recently. Sighing, he opted to let the gash dry out a little.

He had lied before when he said he hadn't remembered it. He remembered very clearly how Neji had put the knife to his throat, telling him he was nothing more than a 'fucking slut'. Gaara had tried to protest, reminding the man that he was still a virgin, but when Neji pressed the knife a little tighter against his throat, Gaara bolted, the knife catching on the back of his head.

If he would've told Kankurou this, his old friend would've cracked and called the police. He couldn't have that happen. It wouldn't be good.

He would be okay without bandages. Putting a hand to the back of his head, he winced when pain lanced through the back of his skull, but it wasn't bleeding. It had already started to scab over.

Slipping back into the clothes Kankurou let him borrow, he applied the eyeliner with the skill and dexterity of years practice and left.

Temari was still asleep when he exited the bathroom, nearly an hour after he had entered it. Now a lot better on his feet, he realized that he was hungry.

But, he was fat, too. That's what Neji had said. He didn't want to be fat. He didn't want Neji to leave him.

Feeling a prickling sensation at the back of his eyes, Gaara shook his head, assuring himself that he wouldn't cry. He also wouldn't eat. He wouldn't be fat anymore.

* * *

At around 4:30, Gaara had been watching the television, which was showing some odd anime about three girls who went on 'missions' to help the city so they could buy an island. It was stupid, but it was wasting time. He had originally gone to the anime channel to watch Gravitation, but that had ended at four. 

When he heard the door open, his brow furrowed. Temari had woken up and was currently cooking dinner, and Kankurou wouldn't be home until 6:30. So, who was that? And why didn't they knock?

His unspoken question was answered as soon as a tall, foreboding figure entered the room.

"I knew you'd be here," the figure sneered, looking in Gaara's direction. "You fat slut."

Neji.

What was Neji doing here?

Neji never came to get him…

…He always came back…

"N-neji…" Gaara managed, his voice reverting to its normal stuttering squeak. "I-I came here l-last night…"

"Cheating on me?" Neji cut through on Gaara's stammering excuse, glaring down his nose at him in disgust. He was tall, not as tall as Kankurou, but close, with long, deep brown hair and piercing white eyes. Actually, his eyes were an extremely pale blue, but you couldn't usually tell. Gaara knew because he could spend hours staring into those pools and drowning; Drowning in the normally blank orbs that in his presence sometimes lit up in hatred or disgust, but every so often, something warm, _fond._

"N-no! Neji, I-I'd never cheat on you! Ever!" Gaara exclaimed, looking up to his boyfriend in pure shock. How could Neji think this?

"Sure you wouldn't," the older man sneered again, reaching out this time to grab Gaara's arm and wrench him off the couch. Gaara made a whimpering noise and tried to pull away. His arm still hurt from him wrenching it around yesterday.

"N-neji…I..ah…K-kankurou said…" he started, remembering his friend's words.

"K-k-k-kankurou s-s-s-said!" Neji mimicked, placing a lot more exaggeration on the stutter. "You live with me. You're coming home. Right now."

"What's going on?" Temari said, coming out into the living room. When she saw the sight of Neji pulling Gaara towards the door by the younger man's left arm, she gasped sharply, clapping her hands to her mouth.

"Neji! Neji, you can't take him home yet! He's sick!" she exclaimed suddenly, rushing over.

"You think I can't take care of him? He lives with me and I'm starting to get suspicious of the fact he spends so much time with his 'friend' anyways!" Neji snarled, giving Gaara's arm a yank so he was ripped from his spot clinging to the couch, scraping his head against the couch and the floor.

He was dragged a couple more feet when Temari and Neji noticed the trail of blood following him.

'M-my…. head's all wet…' Gaara thought feverishly before blacking out.

"What the fuck?" Neji exclaimed, dropping Gaara's arm with a dull thud before making his way over to his head. With gentleness that Temari could never fathom the man possessing, he lifted Gaara's head, his hand immediately being coated with the blood from the cut that had just been worsened.

"Shit." He swore.

"Let me see." Temari said curtly, taking a long glance at the gash without waiting for Neji to grant her position. Finally, she met Neji's gaze, which looked like he didn't really care more than anything.

Swallowing the anger that rose in her throat at the nonchalant stare, she began. "I think he needs stitches there," she said slowly. "My fiancé is a doctor. I know these things. He's at work now. If you promise to let them examine him and possible stay with us until he's better, I'll take him to Shikamaru. If not, then hey, we could always send it to a regular doctor and tell him you did it." she said evenly, keeping her gaze matched with his.

Neji considered for a while, staring at Gaara's relaxed features. "How sick is he?" he asked.

Temari sighed. "When Kankurou checked before work, he was 102. Chances are, he went up."

Neji considered again, still staring at the porcelain boy in front of him. "Fine. Take him to the hospital. I can't stand the fat thing being so pathetic anyhow." He pulled Gaara into his arms and stood up, walking out the still opened door.

Temari frowned at the insult, but followed anyways.

'That man doesn't deserve Gaara. Not in the slightest.'

* * *

And voila! Omigosh, this was out late compared to my other updates! I'm so sorry! You see, recently, my dad's being even more of an ass that usual, and he threatened to take away the internet because I had 'no social life' but he compromised it to three hours a day on the computer, and right now no one's home, so it's like…free time for me. Wh00t! Sorry this was so short. Ah, and at the end of the month, I'm going to an anime convention! I don't know what it's called, but it's in Canada! Aren't I just the master of information? So, yeah, at the end of the month, I'm definitely leaving for that, and I won't be back 'till August 2nd, and Kanky-chan is coming to visit! 

RP: ...You have family, too, ya know.

I do? Not right now, I don't!

RP: ...You know what I mean...

Fine, fine, I'll share her!


	4. Panic Attack

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I think I'm having writers' block for this. That'd be very, very bad. Like, I know what I want happening, and I know where it's going, but it's like ehhh….I'm gonna try to force it out for you guys though, okay? Okay. Let's get started!

Disclaimer: …………..(runs off to her room, screams into her pillow, and comes back) All better.

Oh, oh, and just because I feel like doing this before the chapter, some review answers!

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black** – Looking back on the last chapter, yeah, I guess it was kind of exaggerated, but he mostly passed out because when he was dragged, it ripped off the newly-formed scab, and the carpet, which isn't exactly soft, ripped it open further, so he passed out mostly from pain and fever, 'cause he's really weak right now from getting sick because of his weak immune system. There's my excuse, but I do think that it was a little exaggerated.

* * *

Temari always hated hospitals. They were always so white; it was bothersome. It was like a white death chamber, and that scared her. 

At least Gaara wasn't going to the ER or ICU. He just needed stitches, which was what her fiancé was working on now.

Taking a glance at Neji, she couldn't help but glare. She had never liked him. From the start, when it at least looked like Neji had loved Gaara, she could tell it wouldn't work out. Gaara was too skittish about even being embraced, and Neji didn't want to see that. He kept trying to go further.

But, of course, her baby-brother-figure could be extremely optimistic, and his love life was one of those times. He probably still believed that deep down, Neji still loved him and it'd be okay.

Even now, with his boyfriend in the hospital, Neji didn't look concerned. Though Gaara's wound wasn't severe, it was still something that she would be worried about. What if it had become infected? What if he got sicker? If he got sicker, he could really die!

Temari shook her head. She didn't need this. Not now. Now, she needed to stay strong and hope that Gaara would still be able to stay with Kankurou. He had told her that he wasn't letting Neji take him home until he wasn't running a fever, but there might be a change in plans now that the younger man had actually come to take Gaara home.

Speaking of Kankurou, she had yet to tell him this. She supposed she should; he'd freak out on her if she didn't. Sighing and standing up, she pulled out her cell phone, quickly telling Neji that she was going to step into another room for a moment.

The strange-eyed boy merely nodded and continued to stare at nothing. Temari couldn't even tell if he was thinking or not.

She found her way to another waiting room, but this one was completely empty, including the receptionist's desk. She quickly dialed Kankurou's work number and waited.

"Maoshimao Café, can I help you?"

"Hi, may I speak to Kazemiichi Kankurou?"

The voice changed from a business like tone to one she recognized.

"Speaking…" he sounded kind of wary.

"Um…Kankurou, um…Neji came to get Gaara." she started uneasily, unsure of his reaction.

There was silence on the other line for a while. "Oh god…He didn't take him, did he?" Kankurou asked worriedly.

"No…we're at the hospital." Before her little brother could freak out, she added, "His cut got worse when Neji tried to literally drag him home and he needs stitches."

She could practically feel his inner struggle. Kankurou hated upsetting his bosses; that was why he had gotten fired the last time. It had been another Gaara-incident, and the younger boy was in worse condition than he had been this time around. Temari and Shikamaru had been on vacation, and couldn't watch him, so he had stayed home with him. That boss hadn't been too kind about it.

"I'll ask Morino…I'll tell him it's an emergency…I doubt he'll care. Thanks for telling me. I'll be right over." He said. Something told Temari that he was probably scolding himself for not having his priorities right. She'd have to confront him about that.

* * *

Kankurou sighed and hung up the phone. Turning back to the register, he was faced with the many faces of his regular customers. Sighing, he told them all to please hold on a moment, and before they could go into an uproar about their coffee, went to find his boss. 

"Morino?" he asked, plowing through a crowd of workers. "Morino!" he cried again, seeing him near the back. Making his way through, he noted that his boss didn't look pleased. That wasn't good.

"What is it? Why aren't you at the register?" he snapped. Kankurou sighed. "I…ah…kind of have an emergency…see…my friend…he's in the hospital right now…and I wanted to know if I'd be okay to go there…to be there with him. He isn't fond of hospitals."

Morino Ibiki stared at him, nearly disbelieving. "Kazemiichi Kankurou asking me for a day off? Go ahead, boy, I was assigning you a block of holidays anyways. I don't want to see you back here for another 2 weeks, got it? And your next paycheck will be in your mailbox by tomorrow. Because of all the overtime you've put in, don't even worry about being short on cash. Alright?"

Kankurou was about to protest, but then realized how good an opportunity this was and nodded, forcing a smile. "Alright. You won't be seeing me anywhere near here until then. Thanks a lot, Morino!" he cried, sprinting back through the crowd of workers, disgruntled customers, and out the door to his car.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. Kankurou couldn't stop himself from worrying. If the cut worsened, would it get infected? He tried to tell himself that with Shikamaru taking care of it right away, it wouldn't, but he always stopped to consider Gaara's immune system.

'Well,' he mused, 'they'll find out, or clean the cut anyways. Ouch, that must hurt…I hope Gaara isn't really freaking out…'

He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on the road. Why couldn't he stop worrying? Things like this wouldn't have bothered him nearly as much a year ago. A year ago, he would've been worried, but not this bad. Not to the point where he could barely see straight.

'I think I really do have a crush on him.' he concluded. Finding it didn't surprise him at all, he sighed. 'I really wish I could just take him away…from Neji, and everything else that could possibly hurt him…keep him safe with me…we could move somewhere together and take Temari and Shikamaru with us.'

Kankurou slammed on the brakes at a red light. Mentally scolding himself for getting lost in his musings, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell was wrong with him.

Forcing his concentration back on getting into the hospital parking lot ahead of him, he realized he had no clue where exactly in the hospital Gaara, Temari, and – he cringed at the thought of the younger boy – Neji were. He had never bothered to get a cell phone, trying to save up as much money as possible to get out of the apartment building he was in to somewhere within walking distance from Gaara and Neji, so he couldn't really call and ask.

He didn't have a lot of experience with hospitals. Surprisingly, even with his horrible immune system, Gaara didn't need to go to the hospital a lot. If he did, it was usually for things like a high fever or broken bones. The much-smaller boy was very fragile, and as a child, broke his wrists and ankles very easily, especially during physical education when things like running, skidding, and hitting a ball hard was required.

He never liked milk.

Pulling into the first empty parking space he could find, Kankurou walked into the double doors to the lobby. (Please excuse the probably incorrectness of all this, I've hardly had to go to the hospital, I think the last time I did was over a year ago when my friend got hit by a car, and I don't remember it.) He saw a lady at the receptionists' desk with long blond hair and an overdeveloped figure.

Not taking any time to really think about her, he walked up and, as politely as he could in his anxiety, asked where he could find Tereya Gaara. The lady pulled out a large book and skimmed through the names, finally stopping at Gaara's name and giving him directions.

"If they won't let you see him, there's a waiting room you can stay in," she concluded, her finger pointing in the direction where he would start off.

"Thanks," he nodded, and followed the digit's direction.

"No problem." The lady said after him, going back to her previous task, whatever that might have been.

Kankurou bit his lip. He really hoped Gaara wasn't freaking out.

* * *

"G-Gaara…Gaara, calm down!" Shikamaru stammered for the fourth time. "Don't make me sedate you! You're only here for stitches! Calm down, no one's going to hurt you!" the redhead had been hysterical since had he woken up when Shikamaru had left to go get utensils for stitches. Very, completely, and utterly troublesome. 

Currently, the man was backed against the wall, eyes wide and breathing coming in ragged gasps. "No…no…I won't…won't let you…t-touch me," he said, his sentence broken by his irregular breathing. Shikamaru tried again.

"Gaara…you know me. It's Shikamaru! Remember? I put your shoulder back into place when you dislocated it…" he said calmly, trying to get the younger man's memory to jog.

"NO! G-GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gaara screeched, finding a chair and hiding behind it. Luckily, his cut had been bandaged, somewhat, so he wasn't bleeding all over the place, but Shikamaru had already looked at it and cleaned it out. He would definitely need stitches.

Shikamaru realized exactly how troublesome it was going to be to sedate him like this. When he got into this condition, physical contact was completely off limits. It would only send him into a further state of hysteria. No. There were only two people that could calm him like this. One of which he knew was here.

"Nurse! Watch him!" he barked at the lady he knew was in the doorway. "Just make sure he doesn't hurt himself or anything. If you need to, sedate him, but something tells me that isn't going to happen in this state. I know someone here who can get him to calm down."

Not looking to see if the nurse listened to his order, he bolted out of the room and down the hall, attracting odd stares from many of his colleagues. This was very troublesome. Why did he choose this profession again? Oh, yeah, he was smart enough for it and it paid well.

* * *

Kankurou stared at the two people in the waiting room. While Temari looked worried – that wasn't new, Temari always worried – appropriately, Neji looked like he couldn't really care less. 

This angered him. How could he, Gaara's boyfriend, not care? Why? Why was this angering him so much, anyways? Choosing to block it off, he took a seat in between the two, greeting Temari.

"Hey…" she managed weakly. She was really worried. Kankurou took a minute sense of relief in this, realizing that he wasn't the only one. "I really hope it's not infected…" she mused aloud, putting her head in her hands.

Kankurou frowned. "They're gonna clean it out anyways…he's not going to get sick…" he assured her, as well as himself, putting a caring hand on the slumped-over woman's back.

Turning back to Neji, he couldn't help but glare. The boy wasn't even remotely concerned. Truthfully, he looked like he didn't want to be here. His anger sparking, Kankurou couldn't help his thoughts being vocalized.

"Don't you _care_?" he snarled, causing the white-eyed boy to look at him. "Well?" he asked when no response was given.

"The bastard's weak enough to be here for a simple cut. That's pathetic," he said finally, completely and utterly emotionless.

Leaping to his feet, Kankurou felt his jaw drop. "He can't help that! He's always been like that!" he yelled, causing the receptionist to give him a look, but not say anything.

"He's always been weak, then?" Neji reciprocated, getting to his feet as well. "A little baby?"

Kankurou growled low in his throat. "He's strong. Just not in ways that most people are. He's gotta be strong to live with a bastard like you!"

"_I'm_ a bastard? I'm not the one who's cheating on his boyfriend."

"HE'S NOT CHEATING ON YOU!" Kankurou screeched before he could stop himself. The receptionist told him to quiet down. Apologizing, he sat again, glaring daggers.

"Then why is he always with you?" Neji demanded smugly, also sitting, his tone never changing in emotion or volume.

"Because as strong as he is, he can't take abuse all the time. Why the hell do you care if he's cheating on you or not?" Kankurou snarled, quieter than before, but still loud enough to get his point across.

"He has his uses," was the simple reply.

"Yeah, as your punching bag?"

"He cooks," Neji said simply, inspecting his nails.

"Only for you apparently! He thinks he's fat!"

"He is."

Before their argument could continue, a doctor burst through the double-doors: Shikamaru. "Kankurou? Oh, good God you're here, someone needs to get in there! He's freaking out!"

Kankurou stood. "I'll go," he offered instantly.

Neji stood with him. "No, I'll go. He's my boyfriend," he added smoothly.

Kankurou glared at him. "Not a chance in Hell. Shikamaru, you know he trusts me more than anything."

Shikamaru nodded. "Sorry Neji, I hardly know you," he said simply, glad he didn't need much more an excuse than that. Anything else would've been troublesome.

Leading Kankurou through the double doors, he sighed. "I have no idea why he's freaking out. It's like he doesn't recognize that it's me, which doesn't make sense unless he's having a panic attack. Is he prone to them?"

Kankurou stared. "Well…yeah, he has them every so often, but he's not really prone to them. Aren't you supposed to look at this stuff before you do all this crap?" he demanded, in a snappy mood after his argument.

"Too troublesome," was the reply. Before Kankurou could contradict him further, he added, "I thought it'd be an easy job. He was unconscious when he got here."

Turning into Gaara's room, Shikamaru wasn't surprised to see the boy still hiding behind the chair, this time shouting at the nurse.

"C-COME ANY CLOSER AND I'LL SCREAM! I'LL SCREAM SO L-LOUD THAT THE DEAF PEOPLE CAN H-HEAR IT!"

Kankurou quickly made his way across the room, kneeling in front of Gaara.

"Gaara! It's me, Kankurou! It's okay, please calm down!" he started, hoping that the sound of his voice might shake him out of the attack.

"D-don't come any closer!" Gaara said, his voice broken with panic, scooting back until he was against the wall.

Kankurou moved with him until he was only a couple of inches away from the shaking man.

"I-I'LL SCREAM!" he warned.

Disregarding the threat, Kankurou reached out and embraced him tightly, pulling the small, trembling frame against his chest. Gaara struggled at first, and then seemed to recognize Kankurou's voice from the soothing tone he was using, going still in Kankurou's arms. He was still shaking, and very tense.

"Does this have to be done like…right now? At this instant?" He asked tentatively. If he could, he wanted to see if he could get Gaara to loosen up a little bit.

Shikamaru considered it. "Well…while he's calm, I wanna try to do it right now…can you try to keep him talking? It might distract him from the pain of this numbing shot." He whispered, not wanting to really disturb the now-relaxed redhead. He wasn't sure if the boy was paying attention; he had managed to get the bandage off just fine.

Kankurou nodded. "So, Gaara, are you feeling okay? Like, are you feeling any sicker than this morning?" he asked quietly, shifting the boy in his arms so Shikamaru would have a better angle of the back of his head.

"W-well…my head kinda hurts now…" Gaara mumbled. "Mostly where the cut is…a-and…my throat hurts too…wh-what happened?" he asked, unsure of why he was now in Kankurou's arms.

"You had another panic attack…it's okay. That might be why your throat hurts, but we'll get your temperature soon, okay?"

"Done." Shikamaru cut in, throwing the used syringe in a bin.

Kankurou nodded and set him back on the operating table. While Gaara was still tense, especially in the neck and back, he looked like he wouldn't be able to keep himself up very easily, but Kankurou backed off anyways.

As soon as Gaara saw he was leaving him, he made a small noise that sounded much younger than his 18 years and reached out, grabbing a fistful of Kankurou's shirt and clinging to it.

Kankurou looked back up, smiling gently. "It's okay, Gaara; Shikamaru's here to help. Don't worry…" he said, trying to coax the boy away from himself.

Gaara made the little noise again and clung tighter, fear evident in those jade orbs he called eyes.

Shaking his head a little to keep thoughts of Gaara's gorgeous eyes out of his head, Kankurou moved back again, into clinging distance of the smaller man. As soon as he was near enough, Gaara leaned his head on Kankurou's shoulder. He was obviously tired.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I can't do it if he's like that…sorry," he said sheepishly, adding the apology at the fearful glance from Gaara.

Kankurou nodded, the initial shock from Gaara willingly telling him with his actions that he was feeling weak, and something else he couldn't explain wearing off.

"Gaara…" he said slowly, patting the man's head gently, slightly surprised at his actions. He blamed it on being sick and tired. "Gaara, it's okay. Shikamaru is safe." He tried to assure him, sitting Gaara up again and backing away a little.

Gaara made the noise, but seeing Kankurou seemed to calm his obvious fear of being in a hospital. He seemed out of it, or more like his panic attack hadn't completely faded yet. Kankurou just hoped it wouldn't get stronger, if that was the case.

He watched intently as Shikamaru's deft fingers worked their way over Gaara's head, sewing up the gash in the back. When he was finished, he applied a bandage, tying it tightly, then told Gaara he was free to go.

Nodding slightly, the younger man hopped off the table, wobbling, but not falling. Seeing this, Shikamaru frowned.

"You know what, it might be a good idea to take your temperature," he mused aloud. "Is that okay?" he added softly, as if trying to persuade the boy that it was safe, and that he wouldn't force him to do anything.

Gaara looked wearily at Kankurou, who nodded. "Go ahead. He's not going to hurt you."

He considered it, and then nodded. Smiling, Shikamaru opened the door. "I'll be right back," he said. "Kankurou, you can stay here if you want."

Kankurou nodded, not sure if it was wise to leave Gaara alone in a room when he got like this. He sighed. He hated making Gaara seem like a baby, but he just seemed and acted so fragile sometimes.

Gaara hated hospitals.

Turning to the object of his thoughts, he couldn't help but notice how tired looking he was. "You know," he began, slightly unsure of what to say, which surprised him, seeing as he always had words for a situation such as this. "If you fall asleep, I don't think Shikamaru will mind." He said.

After a while, Gaara shook his head, saying that he'd slept enough that day and that Shikamaru would get mad.

Kankurou frowned. "Gaara, you know Shikamaru. He's not going to get mad at you for falling asleep…no one would. You need the rest."

The redhead mumbled something so quietly it took a moment for Kankurou to decipher what he had said.

"Gaara, Neji doesn't count, okay?" he said, embracing the smaller man again.

Nodding into his chest, Gaara spoke again, hardly audible, "It u-used to…"

"I know it used to. But that was a while ago," Kankurou said shortly, not liking to remember the better days of Neji. It even hurt him to remember how kind hearted he had been towards Gaara. That's what the redhead needed.

"Why c-can't it be like that again?" Gaara's voice was broken, like he was fighting back tears.

"I…don't know…I really don't…" Kankurou confessed, massaging his back gently.

"I d-d-don't even r-remember what I d-did wr-wrong!" Gaara was crying now; he could feel the redhead's tears through his shirt and his shoulders shaking.

"Shh…you didn't do anything wrong…he's the one who turned bad…"

"No! I h-had to have done s-something bad t-to make him hate me!" Gaara exclaimed, taking a fistful of Kankurou's shirt and clinging. "It m-must've been a-at…a-at his last b-birthday…"

Kankurou frowned. "That wasn't your fault! God, Gaara, do you really think he would hate you for something like that?" he asked, harsher than he meant to.

Gaara whimpered into his chest, nodding like he was afraid to tell him that yes, he thought that Neji hated him for what he had done.

Kankurou sighed. "It wasn't your fault. If anything, it was his fault. It could've been repaired, I told him."

* * *

"_Come on, Neji! We need to hurry!" Gaara exclaimed, tugging on the older man's shirt._

"_I'm going, I'm going!" Neji was rather amused that Gaara was so impatient about the two of them getting back to their apartment. Gaara had moved in with him nearly two months ago, he knew that the living space was nothing special._

"_Why are you in a hurry, anyways?" he asked the teen, smiling at him. Gaara put up his innocent face and shook his head. "Nothing…"_

"_Is it for my birthday?" He asked coyly, watching Gaara blush. He knew he had guessed right._

"_Y-you'll see!" the redhead exclaimed, pulling him into the direction of the door again._

"_Alright, alright," Neji pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. "Why's it so dark in here? We always leave at least one light on…" he mused, turning on a light switch._

"_SURPRISE!"_

_Neji jumped a foot in the air. In his living room stood Kankurou, Temari, Kasuka Hatake Kakashi, his cousins Hinata and Hanabi, Rock Lee, Ten Ten, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and even Uchiha Sasuke._

_Grinning from ear to ear, he couldn't help but ruffle Gaara's hair. "You planned this, didn't you!" he exclaimed, hugging the smaller boy tightly. Gaara, obviously thrilled to have pleased his lover, nodded, laughing._

"_I thought you'd like it!" the redhead proclaimed, delighted his plan had worked. "I should go make the cake…I know you like it fresh from the oven."_

_Neji nodded. "You're such a sweet-heart, Gaara-chan." He gushed, and then turned to his guests._

"_You guys…" he started. "You really didn't have to."_

"_Oh, but we did!" Lee said, striking a ridiculous pose. Naruto hit him. "Stop scaring people, Lee!"_

_Neji laughed. "Still…you really didn't have to…" he insisted. His gaze traveled across the room and settled on the large pile of presents. "You guys! Really! This is too much!" he exclaimed. "It's only my 19th birthday! 19 isn't even all that special!"_

_From the kitchen, he heard Gaara's hesitant voice. "But isn't it? I m-mean, it's still a birthday! And…I guess in our custom, that in itself is something to celebrate!"_

_Neji smiled. "Yeah. I guess you're right, Gaara-chan."_

_The rest of the day had gone by very well. Everyone forgot about everything else in his or her lives, such as Kankurou being fired and evicted, Ten Ten's encounters with drugs, Naruto's unrequited love for Sasuke, and Gaara's father, who at that point was suing his mother for one reason or another and just had fun._

_Gaara had left the cake in the oven, saying that it would be a while before the dessert was finished. They had been playing random, very adult-ish party-games when he smelt it: the burning stench._

"_Oh! The cake!" he exclaimed, rushing into the kitchen. Neji followed hot on his heels, both skidding to a stop in front of the doorway. _

"_Th-the cake!" Gaara repeated, rushing to the smoking oven and yanking the door open._

"_The oven!" Neji said at the same time, rushing to turn it off. Through the smoke, he could make out the burnt remains of the cake and the damage done to his stove. "I don't think it'll ever work again! Do you have any idea how expensive a new one is going to be?" he exclaimed angrily, ignoring the fact that Gaara was choking on all the dark smoke surrounding them._

"_I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry!" he stammered between coughing fits. _

_Kankurou, sensing the alarm in Gaara's voice, rushed in, pulling him out of the cloud of smoke and back into the dining room._

_Neji had been angry for days after that, even when they bought a new oven, which had been very expensive. It didn't help that Gaara didn't have a job; no manager would ever hire the scrawny, short, pathetic looking redhead._

* * *

"It wasn't your fault." Kankurou repeated, rubbing circles on Gaara's back. He stayed with the smaller boy until he fell asleep and Shikamaru came back, now unable to take his temperature, but deeming him able to go home. 

AND IT'S FINISHED! Here you are, dearest H-R-chan! Heart you!


	5. Lost Virginity Leads to Kissing!

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: OH, MY GOD! Love me, I am finally updating this! Wh00t!

Disclaimer: I own my ickle version of fanfic Gaara. God forbid that I ever write him in character.

* * *

In the week that had passed after Gaara's hospital incident, Kankurou found he had been very bored. It wasn't that he _wanted _Gaara to be hurt and have to resort to him again, but he did kind of wish the redhead would visit. It was worrying him. 

'Yeah…that's all…it's worrying me. It's not like…like I like him like that and I really want him to live here…' he tried to tell himself, failing miserably.

Sighing, Kankurou sunk into the armchair he was currently residing in. Over the week, he had also been able to assess that his new emotions on his best friend was definitely a crush.

'And just that!' he assured himself. 'Gaara's not single anymore! Though…I wish he was…' His eyes widened in alarm. '…Because…Neji's…an ass! Yeah…yeah, that's right! That's why…really…'

Great. Now he had a headache. Pushing himself off the couch, Kankurou made his way over to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. He shook it once, and frowned when it was empty.

"God _dammit_!" he swore aloud, throwing the pill container across the room. It wasn't like he couldn't get more; the painkillers he used were a cheap over-the-counter kind. Lately, however, he had been very irritable very quickly.

He blamed this on not being able to go to work for two weeks. He thought he was going to go insane. Something told him that somehow – no matter _how _careful he was – he was going to run out of money before his break was up.

Rummaging through the cabinet again, he looked for another bottle of painkillers, practically tearing everything out and throwing it across the room in his frantic search. He didn't want to have to buy it; he'd run out of money! Okay, so Ibiki had given him a fair amount….but two weeks was a long time, dammit!

None of this was really making his headache any better, so he decided to try to sleep it off, walking back out of his now demolished looking kitchen and plopping down into the armchair.

Ten minutes later he discovered that armchairs were not very comfortable and made his way to the couch. Ten minutes after that he realized his couch was very lumpy and hard to sleep on. Not really feeling like going to a bed, he opted to not sleep and hoped for his headache to go away.

He turned on the television, hoping to find something – _anything _– that could take his mind off his headache, and Gaara. He finally found Mad TV, as stupid as it could be, and settled for directing his hatred at the characters there.

Great. Now he was in a bad mood, and he had no idea why. This temper could be very dangerous.

* * *

Gaara woke up at 11:30 that morning, sat up straight in bed, and felt a horrible pain rip through his body. He couldn't remember Neji hurting him last night so… 

Wait…

Last night! Beaming, Gaara jumped out of bed, fell over because he was still in pain, got up again, and ran into the bathroom. A minute later, he ran out, got clothes, and ran back in. Kankurou was _so _not going to believe this!

He yanked his shirt over his head and ran a comb through his unruly hair. 'I need to get a trim,' he thought, but he knew he wouldn't. His hair looked nice long.

Applying his eyeliner carefully, although, somewhat anxiously, he finished up in the bathroom and practically skipped out into the kitchen. He would've _literally _skipped out there, but at the moment, it hurt to walk, and he was therefore walking with a limp.

Not even bothering with breakfast, Gaara glanced around. It appeared that Neji had already left, although, Gaara didn't think he had work that day, so he left a note and almost ran out the door before he remembered his pain and limped out instead.

Kankurou's house was a good distance away, so that forced him to take the TARTA bus over to the apartment. Waiting at the stop, he dug around in his pockets and managed to come up with ninety cents. Thanking the TARTA people for only charging eighty-nine cents a person, he waited for fifteen minutes until a bus got there.

Those fifteen minutes had been rather cold, because he had an interesting habit of forgetting his jacket, so the comforting warmth of the heated bus seemed even more welcoming than it would've normally.

Limping up to the main section, he beamed when there were still a lot of empty seats in the front. He had always been on the short side, only making it to 5'1", so standing and holding on to the yellow bars jerked him around a lot.

Unconsciously swinging his legs to the beat of some unknown song (and not caring, for once, that his feet didn't make it to the floor), he couldn't wipe the goofy smile that he knew he was wearing off his face. He couldn't help it, he was just so happy! He hoped Kankurou would be happy too, but he might be upset that Gaara was in pain…

Well, he could always try to hide his limp, right?

* * *

Kankurou's mood had yet to change, even though he had managed to find his favorite show playing, Mind freak. Watching Criss Angel attempt his insane stunts always took his mind off things. Today, however, was an exception. He couldn't stop worrying about everything: Money, Gaara, Gaara, money, Gaara, Gaara, money……Gaara… 

Shaking his head and scowling at the screen as though it was it's fault his mind wouldn't leave him alone, he changed the channel to some creepy children's show, then became rather disturbed by it and turned the TV off. He had finally found a comfortable position in his armchair and he was about to drift off to sleep when persistent knocking started at his door.

He groaned and made his way over. He knew he looked a mess; his hair must have been sticking out in a thousand angles and all he was wearing was a pair of loose pajama pants and a dirty, gray t-shirt.

Not really caring too much about his appearance, Kankurou opened the door, not at all prepared for the beaming, painfully _happy _face to jump out at him.

"KANKUROU, GUESS WHAT!" Gaara cried in a moment of energetic euphoria.

Kankurou blinked, stared down at the happy face, and then blinked again. Realizing he had yet to speak, he blinked.

"G-gaara?" he asked, feeling rather stupid. "Gaara, what's up? What are you so happy about?"

Gaara tried to bounce, but nearly fell over. "GUESS!" he cried, being louder than Kankurou had ever heard him be in months, years even.

"Um…you…got a job?"

"No!"

"You…went to get your license?" This was a stupid guess, as Gaara hadn't even gone to drivers'-ed yet, but still.

"Nope!"

"Neji's dead?"

Gaara gave a gasp of horror, clapping his hands over his mouth and his eyes wide with fear. Kankurou immediately felt bad.

"No, no, I'm sorry…I'm sorry…does it have to do with Neji?"

Gaara nodded slowly, his hands still pressed against his mouth.

"Okay…he…uhh…decided he was a prick and left?"

Gaara whimpered, his mood drooping a little bit. Mentally kicking himself, Kankurou sighed.

"I give up. If it has to do with Neji, then…I really have no clue."

"I lost my virginity!"

"**_YOU WHAT?_**"

"I did it! I really did!"

Kankurou stared at the younger man. No _wonder _he was so happy.

"To _who_?" He couldn't believe that Neji would ever do something like that with his friend without hurting him.

"Neji!" Gaara said, as if it was obvious. When Kankurou merely stared at him, he wrapped his arms around the older man's chest and cried, his voice muffled by the material, "He said he loved me! He did!"

Kankurou sighed. This was suddenly very depressing. Of _course _Neji said he loved him. It was _sex_! "Well…that's great! It really is!" he tried to sound happy for the smaller man. "We should celebrate with something to eat! We could go out!" Something told him that Gaara still wasn't eating properly.

Gaara seemed to consider it. "W-well…I…I don't know…I don't want to waste your money…a-and eating out is r-rather fattening…"

"_Gaara_. You are not fat." Kankurou said sternly.

"B-but…"

"No buts. Now, what do you say?"

After a while, in which Gaara appeared to have a mental war with himself, he nodded. "But! I don't want to waste your money so if it's cheap, then that's fine with me!" he insisted, waving his hands in front of his face.

"Gaara, it's _my _money. If I want to blow it on you, I'll blow it on you," he said defiantly. Part of him, the sensible, money-hording part was crying on the inside, but this was a small part, and the rest of him really wanted to take Gaara out to get something to eat.

"So, hey, let's get going!"

Gaara considered it again, poking his fingers together and keeping his gaze down, before seeming to decide. "Alright…"

"Good. I didn't plan on taking no for an answer," Kankurou said cheerfully.

"I know you didn't."

Kankurou made his way to the door, but caught sight of his reflection in a mirror he kept near the door for the sole sake of there being nowhere else to put it.

"Ah…Gaara, I'm still in pajamas, you can have a seat on the couch while I go get dressed, though."

Gaara nodded and turned to make his way to the couch. He had taken three steps when Kankurou noticed something wrong.

"Gaara…" he started slowly, "you're limping."

Gaara stopped, flinching very visibly. "I…I know…" he said, rather lamely.

"He hurt you?"

Gaara didn't like the tone in Kankurou's voice. It kind of scared him.

"N-no…he…didn't really hurt me…it was just…y-you know…rough…" Gaara explained, stammering. Kankurou was hardly convinced.

"Gaara, did it hurt at all?" he asked, suspecting the answer.

Gaara opened his mouth to speak several times, seemed to decide against it, and then mumbled his answer: "Only…o-only a l-little…"

Kankurou stared at him. "Gaara…he hurt you," he said, absently.

"Y-yeah…b-but just a little! R-really!"

Kankurou sighed. "Did you tell him to stop?"

At this, Gaara's shoulders slumped towards the floor, his shoes apparently very interesting. "No…" he mumbled, finally. "H-he…he w-was enjoying it…so…I l-let him…a-and it g-got a li-little better later o-on…"

"A _little _better? Gaara, it's supposed to get _a lot _better! If it didn't, you should've told him to stop!" He was nearly infuriated, but he didn't know why.

'Are you jealous?' asked a little voice in his head. He quickly shook it away. He didn't need this now.

"Bu-but Neji w-was enjoying it! I c-couldn't just tell him to stop!" Gaara cried, sniffling once. It wasn't supposed to have turned out like this.

Kankurou felt bad when he realized how he – and really on his own selfishness – had absolutely demolished the mood.

He sighed, taking a step towards the younger man. "Gaara…I'm sorry," he whispered. "I ruined your moment."

Gaara shook his head frantically. "Oh, no, no! I-it's alright…I wasn't r-really having a moment…" he trailed off, staring at his feet.

"No, it's not. I feel horrible, now. I completely destroyed the mood," he said, reaching out and gently embracing the redhead and holding him close. Gaara didn't cry, but his breath did hitch once or twice.

"K-kankurou…. he really d-doesn't love me…does he…?" The redhead asked miserably, seeming to know the answer. Kankurou merely tightened his hold on his friend, rocking him gently. "Of course he does, Gaara…he's just…uh…sick," he said after a while, fumbling for his response. He didn't want to tell Gaara flat out that Neji didn't love him; it would only depress the redhead further.

Gaara was silent for a while, the only sounds being the hitching of his breath, which was becoming more frequent by the minute. Just as Kankurou's fears were pointing to a panic attack, Gaara spoke again, his voice barely a whisper and cracking.

"Why d-doesn't he love me?"

Kankurou swallowed the lump in his throat, clutching Gaara to his chest. "I don't know, Gaara…I really don't know…" And then, he wasn't really sure what had happened. "But I do…"

Gaara raised his head from where it was buried in the soft folds of Kankurou's shirt to look into the taller man's eyes. His own green ones were glazed over with unshed tears and cloudy with sorrow. The mere sight of them, however sad, was still beautiful enough to make Kankurou's heart skip a beat.

"R-really?" he whispered, his breathing calming out, now.

Somehow, Kankurou's face was very close to his; their lips were mere inches from each other's.

"Yeah…I do…more than that bastard ever did."

Kankurou leaned in, still really not sure what he was doing. When his lips brushed Gaara's petal-soft ones, he broke out of his trance, gasping sharply. He tried pulling back to apologize for what he had just done, but Gaara's hand had found it's way to the back of his neck and pulled him in closer for an actual kiss.

He felt shivers run down his spine. It was as if Gaara was some natural energy source, and it was all his to reap. This thought alone made him shudder wildly, and he deepened the kiss. Surprisingly enough, the redhead let him, and when Kankurou's tongue brushed against his lower lip, he let out a soft moan.

Kankurou was about to enter this newfound cavern when furious knocking sounded at the door. Gaara jumped, breaking the kiss, and looked back up into Kankurou's eyes.

"Wh-what did we just do?" he asked breathlessly.

"I…don't know…but I need to answer the door." Kankurou was just as breathless, but he made his way over to the offending door and wrenched open the handle. Staring up at him, with twin orbs of the palest blue, was Hyuuga Neji.

* * *

Ohh…you guys are gonna haaate meee….this is so short…I'm sorry…But, hey, this was a good ending place. And WHOO! WE ARE GETTING IT ON WITH THE KANKYGAA, YO! I'm so proud of myself! I managed to get the relationship going in five chapters! LaF is at 20 and Neji and Gaara have yet to admit their feelings, dammit! I'm getting there…actually, I think I planned it to be slow, now that I think about it…yeah…judging by the circumstances…okay, yeah, you can stop listening to me babble and REVIEW! Please and thank you! Kyah...also...that was my first kiss-scene...ever. Please, no flames over it...constructive critisicm, I shall except, and if I get enough of it, I'll redo it. I'm just paranoid... 


	6. Why Can't I be Enough?

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Kyah! Due to coaching from dearest Shu-chan, (H-R to us ff.n hobos) I have started this chapter while writing LaF! I've wanted to do this for a while; I do realize that was a horrible cliffie…so…yeah…

Ugh! I want to answer someone's constructive criticism, but I CAN'T thanks to ff.n! Grr…I shall say this: He is not open in public, too much; just within the group he knows he's safe with and therefore taunts them with it.

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Naruto? …Oh, wait, you can't see me. ….HA! KANKY-CHAN SAYS SO, TOO! I'm not a 31-year-old Japanese man. …I'm a 13-year-old girl with the mental capacity of a fish.

* * *

'Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, fucking, shit!' Gaara thought, standing rooted in his spot in the middle of Kankurou's living room. 'He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows!' 

"Gaara-" Neji started, only to be cut off.

"YES?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"M-mhm! P-perfectly f-fine!" was his reply, but his voice felt very high pitched and false.

"…Are you sick? That's usually why you drag your ass over here." Did he suspect something? Was it a _crime _to visit a friend?

"What, is he not aloud to visit me? C'mon, now, Neji, I've known the kid since he was 5. He's my best friend, no, no, practically my brother!" Kankurou's voice, too, Gaara noted, was cracking and sounded kind of false, and he realized they both had the same fear.

Now, both eyebrows were cocked. "…So that's the only reason he's here is to visit you?"

"God, what else would he be here for, sex? Ha…ha…ha…HA!" Kankurou tried to laugh it off, but he couldn't exactly ignore his penis at the thought.

"Actually, I wasn't thinking quite that far, but you two seem to be very…_close_. Beyond friendship." Neji's voice was slow and suspicious sounding.

"Well, you're right there, Neji, 'c-c-cause w-we're practically s-siblings!" Gaara piped up, putting a hand behind his head and forcing a sheepish grin onto his features.

Neji glared at him for a long, sweating moment, trying to find a lie anywhere. Apparently satisfied, he grabbed Gaara's arm and tugged him to the door.

"Let's go," he said simply, twisting the knob and dragging Gaara (who had gotten over himself and was now following) with him.

Kankurou stared at the empty room sadly, closing the door, before slumping onto the couch and putting his head into his hands. He really needed some time to figure out what had just gone on.

Gaara had responded, hadn't he? He liked it, hadn't he? So, how wrong could it be? He knew the answer to that immediately: It was wrong because Gaara was with Neji.

'But Neji doesn't _deserve_ someone as…as…as Gaara as him!' a little voice protested.

Even his thoughts couldn't describe Gaara. He just…was. There was no describing how utterly forgiving and kind he was, perhaps a little too trusting and gullible, but all at the same time, he was just Gaara.

Did Neji see that too? Or…(he paled at the thought out of rage, worry, and disgust) did the longhaired boy only want Gaara for his body? There was no denying that Gaara was good looking, with his fine crimson locks, fair, probably unhealthily pale skin, and gorgeous jade orbs that shimmered like diamonds with emotion he was no good at hiding.

…Okay, he needed a bathroom break. What was wrong with him? He hadn't felt like this since middle school!

* * *

The ride back to Neji's apartment had started off silent. Finally, as well as surprisingly, it was Gaara to break the mood, his hands folded in his lap and his gaze locked there. 

"N-neji?" he mumbled, getting the older man's attention. When he gave a grunt of acknowledgement, Gaara continued. "I-I'm sorry f-for leaving…b-but…I l-left a note…" he trailed off, not trying to make it seem like it was Neji's fault.

"Yeah, I know. I got it. And quit your stuttering, it's pathetic!" Neji snarled at him, glaring from the corner of his eye before letting it dart back to the road.

Gaara shrunk in his seat, mumbling an apology.

"Shut up! If you can't talk right, don't talk at all!" he continued, raising his voice. "I _know _you did something over there with Kankurou! You filthy slut, always going after other people, aren't you?"

Gaara didn't hear the rest of Neji's insults or rants; his mind was busy down memory lane. It wasn't a far trip, just to last night, but one enough to send him back down a spiral of depression.

_"Oh, god, Gaara…" Neji panted, keeping still for a moment to get used to being in the redhead._

_Pain. That's all there was to this. But the look on Neji's face was enough to make his heart soar – he finally found something to make Neji happy._

Neji had been happy with him…he hadn't screwed up…

_'"Don't worry…it'll get better…"'_

_Wasn't that what Neji had said at Gaara's involuntary whimper of pain? It wasn't really getting better at all, but Neji looked so happy pounding him into the mattress, moaning loudly, his face contorted with pleasure, that he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. He wouldn't have anyways._

_Neji didn't even notice the lack of moaning from the body pressed beneath him._

He had finally been put to some good use…he thought that maybe…just maybe…Neji would love him now. Isn't that what he had said?

_"G-gaara!"_

_By now, there had been enough pleasure involved, after finally getting used to having Neji in him without being lubricated or stretched, to let him moan, but there was some blood dripping down his thighs. He didn't care._

"_Oh, god, Gaara, I love you!"_

_I love you._

_**I**_

_**Love**_

_**You**_

_Those three words…hadn't they always been all he had wanted to hear? As Neji came to a shuddering climax, he felt something fill him. Still in his euphoria of being loved, Gaara also released, but all over Neji, who, for once didn't care that he had made a mess._

Tears filled his eyes. He tried to stop them, but one lonely bead of crystalline pain streaked down his pale cheek. Neji had said he loved him…why had Neji lied? Neji didn't love him…if he did, he wouldn't be yelling at him…he wouldn't have kissed Kankurou if Neji loved him…

"Yeah, that's right, bitch, cry! That's all you are: a selfish crybaby!" They had been stationary for a while in the parking lot of the apartment, but Neji was still verbally assaulting him. This time, there was nothing to keep his mind off it.

He felt hollow inside, now, like instead of loving him last night, Neji had robbed him of something. Did he have anything left?

"Get out of the car," came a menacing growl. "What the fuck are you, deaf?" He must have been able to tune Neji out. Feeling more than empty, Gaara stepped out of the car, gently shutting the door behind him, and slowly started the trek upstairs to Neji's apartment.

When they were on the stairs, Neji lost his already wavering patience. "Can't you go any faster?" He checked the hallways, and when he was assured no one was around, moved in front of Gaara and wrenched the arm that had been slack on the railing and dragged him up the remaining flights of steps.

Gaara hardly noticed, or cared, when the pain in his arm started to blossom. He didn't hear Neji slam the door to his apartment behind him, or feel him start to hit him, across the face, chest, arms, anywhere.

This was apparently displeasing. Neji obviously _wanted _him in pain, so he became harsher, slamming his fist into the side of the redhead's skull. Gaara saw stars and felt very dizzy; the stitches he had needed to get because of Neji's most recent drunken outburst hadn't quite healed enough to have them taken out. Temari said she and Shikamaru would call him when the time came.

The last thing he remembered was Neji pushing him to the floor and slamming his sneaker-encased foot down on his chest before he blacked out. His last thought echoed in his skull:

_Why can't I be enough…?_

* * *

Kankurou spent the rest of the day on the couch, still in his pajamas. He couldn't tear his thoughts away from Gaara. The younger man was just so…_perfect_ to him. It was almost unreal. 

A wry smile crossed his face. If he were to ever tell Gaara he was perfect, he knew the response he'd get immediately:

_"Ah, I'm not perfect, Kankurou! I-I'm short, a-and fat…an-and I stutter…"_

Gaara could be so self-criticizing. Neji didn't help that at all, telling him he was fat and insulting him every ten seconds. Couldn't he tell that Gaara took everything to heart?

Suddenly, the phone rang. Kankurou started, not expecting to be snapped out of his thoughts, but searched around for the machine, finding it on its fourth ring buried under a pile of blankets.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Kankurou?" a woman's voice came from the other side. It sounded very familiar, very jumpy, enthusiastic, and kind.

"Kasuka-san! It's nice to talk to you!" Kankurou was very surprised to hear the voice of Gaara's mother on the line. The truth was, he hadn't seen or talked to her since Neji's birthday party.

"Yeah, I haven't seen or heard from you in a while!" she said, cheerfully. "But, actually, I was wondering about Gaara…I kind of lost the number to where he and Neji-kun live…and the address…and I wanted to visit him. The last time I saw him, he wasn't looking all that well…a lot thinner than normal and kind of sickly…I'm worried."

"Oh! Yeah, this winter's been kind of hard on him…he just got over being sick, actually." Kankurou decided to omit the fact that he had needed stitches from a head wound his boyfriend gave him.

"Oh…yeah…poor him with his immune system! I found some medicine for that, actually, but I remembered that Gaara developed a certain…reject instinct for pills, so I can't give them to him…" she said sadly. "But I still wanted to see him! You'd think by now I'd remember the number, but I guess not! Kind of funny, really, the last time I talked to him was his birthday! My little baby's all grown up…"

Kankurou let the woman rant on about her child for a while; it was what Kasuka did. Before Gaara, she had been unfortunate enough to have several miscarriages, but she had wanted a baby so bad, even though the doctors had told her that the chances of her giving birth to a healthy child were very slim. While Gaara could be considered 'healthy' by a doctor's standards, Kankurou considered him kind of vulnerable.

After a moment, Kasuka sighed, signaling the end of her musings. "Well, Neji's number is XXX-XXXX," he told her, somewhat cheerfully. "And his address is room 703 in the apartment building on Harvard Blvd."

"Thanks Kankurou! We should try to get together sometime…I haven't talked to your parents in ages!"

"Yeah…they're enjoying retirement very much…" Kankurou told her. In truth, he hadn't seen his parents in over a year. He felt kind of guilty, but Temari kept him up to date, seeing them every other week or so. Every time she had asked him to come, work had hindered him. He decided he should pay them a visit on his days off.

Bidding Kasuka good-bye, Kankurou hung up the phone and plopped back onto the couch, ready for a nap on its lumpy cushions.

* * *

Neji looked over from where he was surfing the Internet when the phone rang. He reached over and grabbed the portable device, pressing the 'talk' button. 

"Hello?" he asked as politely as possible. In truth, he was still feeling a lot of anger towards Gaara. He just _knew _he had done something!

"Hey there! Uh…Neji-kun?" the voice belonged to a very eccentric sounding woman.

"Speaking," he drawled absently, clicking a link to Yahoo! Games.

"Hey! This is Kasuka! Um, is Gaara available?"

Oh, great, _her_. Neji found this woman to be very annoying and her visits were always so _loud_. He didn't dare tell her that Gaara was sprawled out on the living room, unconscious, and maybe with a couple broken ribs, but lied instead.

"He's sleeping. His insomnia has been acting up of late," he said smoothly, taking another glance over at the redhead in question to assure himself that he was still breathing.

"Ohh…I wanted to see him…he wasn't looking so well last time I talked to him, on his birthday. Is he doing okay?" she chirped pleasantly.

"Yes. He's absolutely fine, in perfect health." Neji replied, not much emotion in his voice.

"Ohh! Well, that's good! Um, do you know when I could see him next?"

Neji put on a falsely pleasant voice. "Ah, I don't know…his sleep pattern is so random, that I don't know when he'll be waking up." He knew the ditz would believe him. Gaara never slept any more than eight hours at a time, but she didn't know that.

"Oh, you're right…darn…I'll have to talk to him another time…Thanks, Neji!"

"No problem."

He hung up, threw the phone across the room, where it landed close to Gaara's head, and went back to the Internet.

* * *

When Gaara woke up, he at first didn't recognize his surroundings. Judging by the fact that his back was pressed achingly against something hard, he guessed he was on a floor. Who's, he wasn't sure. 

He tried to force himself to move, but as soon as he made it to a sitting position, a pain lanced through his ribs so strong he was forced back down. Panting from the pain, he noticed the phone right by his head.

'Kankurou…'

* * *

Kankurou's nap had cost him, as it was now 2:30 in the morning, and he had absolutely no chances of sleeping, he had come to realize. He was currently fixing himself something to eat. His meals hadn't been organized for a while now, and he just ate whenever he got hungry enough to go to the kitchen. 

He was just piling some cheese into a tortilla shell when the phone rang. A feeling of dread came over him. Only one person would possibly call this early…He shoved the cheese-invaded tortilla shell into the microwave, hit the 'one minute' button, and went to answer the phone, swallowing hard.

"H-hello?" he said, nervously, already knowing who was on the other line.

"K-k-kank…'rou…" Gaara voice sounded from the other line. He sounded extremely weak.

"Gaara! Gaara, are you okay?" he asked, panicking.

"K-kanku…rou…I…c-can't m-move…"

He couldn't move? What was wrong?

"W-why can't you move…?" he asked slowly.

"M-my….ribs….hurt…" Gaara's voice sounded very strained, as if it was hurting him to talk. Had he broken something?

"Okay…Gaara, do you know if the door's unlocked over there?" He didn't care about Neji being there anymore, he was going to get Gaara out of there! If he couldn't move because of his ribs, which meant that something was probably broken, he wasn't going back until he _could_ move again.

"I…d-don't thi-think…Neji…..l-locked it…..wh-when….w-we…came…home…" Gaara managed.

"Okay, Gaara, do _not_ try to move until I get there, and don't talk too much, okay? I'm going to assume Neji's asleep – don't tell me, it's obviously hurting you to talk – and if the door's locked…Then…I'm not even going to think about that, okay? I'll be right there."

Click.

Kankurou didn't care at that moment that he was still in pajamas or that he wasn't showered. Grabbing his key ring from the counter, he quickly stopped to check something, feeling relief when he saw a key labeled 'Neji's' on it. Gaara had dropped it a while ago, and Kankurou kept forgetting to give it to him.

He practically sprinted to his car, determined to make it to Gaara as fast as possible.

* * *

And voila! Okay, this chapter isn't amazingly long…only just over seven pages…but that's okay! 

OH! BEFORE I FORGET! Fantastical Queen Ebony Black, more widely known as Ebony-chan, wrote a poem inspired by Haunted! It almost made me cry, and it's beautifully written. To find it, go here:

h t t p / w w w . f i c t i o n p r e s s . c o m / r e a d . p h p ? s t o r y i d (equal sign – ff.n doesn't like them.) 1 9 8 8 6 4 4

Love you, Ebony!

Also, on another note, I'm back from vacation earlier than I thought I would be! Surprise surprise!


	7. Not Just a Dreamer

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: See, what'd I tell you? Left over inspiration.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…sadly…

* * *

Kankurou's heart was racing. It had been a tremendous feat to get Gaara out of the house without Neji waking up. He had established (unfortunately, very easily, since Gaara's ribs could be counted through his chest without much effort) that he only had two broken ribs, but it made him hurt to move. 

Every time Kankurou had tried to lift him into his arms, he let out a cry of anguish that made Kankurou's heart wrench and at the same time, worry that Neji would wake up. He had scribbled a note to the Hyuuga, telling him that he was taking him to Shikamaru and if something like this happened again, he would tell the police.

Something told him that Neji wouldn't be too happy with this.

He didn't care right now, though, with Gaara reclined as far back as possible in the passenger seat. Thankfully, the thing was broken, so it went back to the point where Gaara could lay almost completely flat on his back. His breathing was coming in short gasps, as if it hurt him to breathe.

That revelation made Kankurou nervous. They were at a red light, which liked to take forever, especially when most people needed it not to, and Temari and Shikamaru were at the other end of town from Neji's apartment.

Finally, the light turned green, and he put on a burst of speed, forgetting about the rough pavement. Because he was going faster than he probably should have, the car jerked around a lot when he hit it. The road needed to be redone badly.

Gaara whimpered in pain when he was jolted, his eyes clenched shut. Kankurou gritted his teeth and sped off, taking more caution over the rougher roads.

It took a good ten more minutes to get to Temari and Shikamaru's house, but to Kankurou, each red light felt like hours. Each stop sign was wasting time that needed to be spent on Gaara. Each pedestrian crossing was a bitch that didn't give a shit about Gaara and could care less if he died.

But, finally, they made it to where they needed to be. Kankurou hurriedly undid his seatbelt and jumped out of the driver's side, sprinting around the old car to wrench open Gaara's door.

He gently reached over the boy and undid his seatbelt, untangling him from it. Gaara had passed out when they had gone over construction, the road so rocky that it had made him scream out in pain once before slumping, unconscious.

Well, now he didn't have to worry about the redhead being in pain when he picked him up. He scooped the small frame into his arms and, stopping for just a second to cradle him fondly, walked to the door, and balanced Gaara with his knee and his hand while he opened it.

He asked the person at the receptionist desk to page Temari and Shikamaru's room number, saying that there was a family emergency.

"Sir, do you want to call the ambulance?" she asked coolly, done with the paging.

"NO! No, I just need to see them!" Kankurou told her. Gaara let out a tiny whimper of what could either be pain or a nightmare, and taking that as a hint, he hurried over to the elevator.

He pushed the button and the elevator opened, thankfully empty. Shoving his way inside, but being careful not to hurt Gaara further, he jabbed the floor he needed harshly, as if it'd make him move any faster.

It seemed like an eternity for the elevator to rise, but when it finally stopped, he darted through the doors and down the hall.

Temari was waiting outside, chewing on her nails. When she saw him, she ran over, tears shining in her eyes and her nails reduced to stubs.

"Oh, Kankurou! Is he okay?" she asked, trying not to be loud, but unable to help herself.

"Well, he has two broken ribs…and quite a few bruises…but that's it," he told her. Now that he thought about it, and was in the company he needed to be in, he had overreacted. Gaara would be okay. Of _course _he would be okay.

"Well, Shikamaru can look at him…he never minds," she added, seeing the look on Kankurou's face. "Come in, come in!" she gestured to the door, opening it and ushering him inside.

Shikamaru was seated on the sofa, sterilized gloves already on.

"I figured 'family emergency' meant something like this," he told him. "I thought it was best to be prepared before you got up here. What's wrong?"

"Well, he has two broken ribs, and a lot of bruises…but you only need to look at the ribs," he informed Shikamaru, feeling very tired all of a sudden. He went forward, laying the unconscious redhead on the couch, then yawned widely, rubbing his eyes. Temari cast him a sympathetic look.

"You probably haven't slept in a long while…" she guessed, which was partiallytrue. "You can go ahead and lay on the bed. Gaara will be fine." He didn't seem to have much choice in the matter, since Temari was guiding him by his elbow to the bedroom. He cast one more look over his shoulder at Shikamaru and Gaara, surprised when he saw those pretty greens open. He gave Gaara a reassuring smile, although it didn't look like he was very aware.

As soon as he reached the bed, he collapsed onto it. He heard Temari chuckle and start to undo his shoes and pull off his jacket, which had been loosely hanging from his elbows by the time he had gotten Gaara up to the apartment. He mumbled a thank you before slipping off to sleep instantly.

* * *

When Kankurou woke up, sunlight was flooding the room. He blinked away the brightness and rolled over onto his back, rubbing his eyes sleepily. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't on his lumpy mattress covered single bed, but on a comfortable double. 

'Wait…that means I'm not home…' his sleep-muddled mind told him a minute later.

As if a dam had been broken, memories from earlier that morning flooded into Kankurou's mind and he sat up straight, gasping.

"Gaara!" he cried, untangling himself from the blankets and stumbling out of the room. He stopped short at the living room. Temari and Shikamaru were curled up, looking like they had fallen asleep snuggling, on the loveseat. It didn't look too comfortable, but Kankurou decided that he wouldn't wake them.

Gaara was on the other couch, a blanket pulled up to his chin and tucked all around him. By the way his chest was rising and falling, no longer in shallow little bursts as it had earlier, Kankurou guessed that Shikamaru did his 'magic'.

Still, even though the younger man could breathe easier now, he wasn't going back to Neji. Not until his ribs were one-hundred-percent mended, and even then, Kankurou knew he'd be reluctant to let him go.

Silently, he crept over to sit near the couch, watching Gaara sleep. As usual, his features were absolutely relaxed, his eyeliner smudged and faded in some places, revealing that he got probably even less sleep than Kankurou did.

It was absolutely adorable.

He reached over to delicately brush a bang out of Gaara's closed eyes, smiling fondly when it just fell back into place. Gaara just radiated a natural cuteness. It should've been a crime.

Kankurou found that now that they had gone as far as to kiss, he didn't care that his mind was supplying him with fond remarks over the redhead. That was good, because there sure seemed to be a lot of them running through his thoughts lately.

Still smiling, he bent over and placed a gentle kiss on Gaara's forehead, grinning when he turned his head and mumbled something that sounded very much like "No, Mom, ten more minutes…."

Kankurou fell back, leaning against the coffee table, sighing gently. Chances were, considering Gaara's sleep pattern was so random, that Temari, at least, would wake up before he did, probably telling them to have breakfast before they set off back to his apartment.

He took a glance at the clock on the VCR. It was nearly 10:30 in the morning. He was pretty lucky that he wasn't on duty. Ibiki probably would've killed him, revived him, asked what the fuck he'd been doing, and then killed him again when his answer wasn't legitimate.

For a while, he just leaned against the sturdy coffee table, watching Gaara sleep peacefully, undisturbed by nightmares or pain. After fifteen minutes, however, the redhead started to wake up, shifting just slightly in his sleep. Kankurou got the feeling that he couldn't roll onto his side because of his ribs.

Slowly, green orbs opened, glazed over sleepily. He smiled at the sight of Kankurou, who smiled back and cupped his cheek gently with one hand.

"Hey…how're you feeling?" he asked in a whisper.

"I'm…I think I'm okay…" Gaara whispered back, his brow suddenly furrowing. "Hey…where are we?" he asked, looking around.

Gaara had never been to Temari and Shikamaru's apartment.

"We're with Temari and Shikamaru," he told him. "Neji broke your ribs."

Gaara winced slightly. "Oh…yeah…I remember that part…" he mumbled, tearing his gaze away from Kankurou's.

"Hey…don't worry about it," Kankurou told him, leaning in closer. "I told him that if it happens again, I'm telling the police."

Gaara's eyes widened. Before he could freak out, Kankurou added, "There isn't anything he can do to you if the police come to get him, or he'll get a longer sentence. You're safe," he assured the redhead, leaning in so their faces were hardly four inches from each other.

"If I didn't think you were somewhat safe," he continued in a murmur, "I would've called the police when the first bruises started to appear," he told him, closing the gap between them and kissing Gaara gently.

It was a simple kiss, and he pulled away without deepening it much. They sat in silence for a while, before Gaara bit his lip. Kankurou knew enough of the boy's body language to figure out that that meant something was up.

"What's wrong?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"I…I…Kankurou…I'm just…just confused…" Gaara said, his brow furrowed in thought. "I love Neji…but…but I'm having feelings for you too…" he told him. "Crazy, I know…" he added at the look on his friend's face.

Kankurou bit his lip. He had anticipated it, but he wasn't sure what to say to it.

"I'm just so confused…" Gaara repeated, his gaze on the carpet, where his finger was drawing little patterns.

Kankurou couldn't take it; he exploded.

"He doesn't _deserve _you, Gaara!" he told him, clenching a fist. "Contrary to what you think, you didn't do anything worth being hurt for!" Before he could stop himself, everything was spilling out. "I hate how he treats you! He asked me for permission to date you, you know, back when he was modest, and he knew me as your older brother figure, so I told him yes, and look where it's gone? Gaara…I'm sorry, if anything, this is all my fault!"

He was amazed that his sister, who had always been a light sleeper, hadn't woken up.

Gaara's eyes filled with tears, but he didn't let a single drop spill from his glittering jades. "K-kankurou…it's…it's not your fault!" he told him. "It's mine, I'm not good enough! I-I'm always breaking thi-things and b-being clumsy-"

"It's in your nature!" Kankurou protested. "Neji should accept you for who you are!"

"I broke the stove!" Gaara continued. "A-and I'm always so ungrateful for what he does…he cooks sometimes…and he does some of the cleaning. Kankurou, you wouldn't understand it! I'm sorry! I still love him, but I love you too!"

He burst into hysterical sobbing. Kankurou reached forward to comfort him, and behind him, he could hear Temari stirring. He bit his lip. That wasn't exactly good right now.

"Shh…Gaara…I love you too…I'm sorry, I made you upset…" he whispered.

Gaara sniffled against him. "W-why is this so co-complicated…?" he asked, moving a little so he was closer.

"Otouto?" came Temari's sleepy voice from across the room. Kankurou was almost grateful; it saved him from answering an extremely difficult question. Gaara was good at proposing them.

"Yeah?" he answered back.

"Is Gaara okay?" she seemed more awake now, and a rustling of clothing against leather told Kankurou that she had sat up.

"Yeah, he's fine," he assured her, stroking Gaara's brilliantly colored hair. "He just had…somewhat of a breakdown."

"Oh, alright. I'm gonna make you guys breakfast, okay?" she asked, getting up from the couch. When she moved, Shikamaru fell, since she had been supporting him.

"Nnnn! No…'Mari-chaaaaan…" he mumbled, but if he was awake, he quickly fell back to sleep."

Temari rolled her eyes and made her way into the kitchen. A moment later, they could hear the clinking of dishes as she prepared whatever they were to eat.

Kankurou smiled down at the redhead cuddled against his chest. "All better?" he asked him, tenderly brushing his bangs away, again. They both smiled when the bangs merely fell back.

"I love you…" Kankurou told him, stroking the smaller man's tear-streaked cheek.

"I…I love you too…" Gaara murmured, his eyes becoming half-lidded.

Contrary to all prior thoughts, Kankurou thought the redhead was damn sexy like that.

He bent down and kissed the redhead again, playing his tongue on Gaara's lips. When he started sucking on the smaller man's lower lip, Gaara moaned and parted his lips for entry.

He tasted better than the world's best-made dessert. Kankurou just wanted more; he was so damn _delicious_. But, finally, they had to depart for air, Gaara panting, his face flushed nearly the color of his hair and his lips swollen gently.

Kankurou grinned and ran the pad of his thumb over the younger man's lips. The moment was perfect.

"So…we're gonna do this?" Gaara asked him, green eyes questioning.

"Yeah…I guess so," Kankurou told him, his hand wandering down to scratch under his chin. To appease him, Gaara gave him a lopsided grin and tilted his head to give Kankurou more space, purring softly.

"And it's gonna be okay," the older man told him, chuckling gently at Gaara's antics.

Hesitantly, Gaara nodded, agreeing. "I love you…" he said. "I think I've always loved you…maybe more than Neji…"

Kankurou felt something swell inside his chest. He wasn't sure if it was pride, but he couldn't help but think, 'Ha. Take _that, _Neji!' He reached down and embraced the redhead again, but jumped when he heard a cough from the doorway.

"Well, you two are an item now?" came Temari's voice, teasing.

Kankurou felt his face flush, and Gaara's was challenging his hair. "T-temari!" he exclaimed, glaring. "What are you doing here?"

"It's _my_ apartment, _otouto-chan_," she said, using the fond nickname for him. "And, I was wondering how many eggs each of you'd like. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone who could be dangerous. If anything, I think this is the best thing that's happened in your sex life so far, Gaara, and the _only _thing in yours, Kanky!"

"TEMARI!"

* * *

Breakfast was a very interesting ordeal. It turned out that Temari had seen everything from their kiss and beyond, which annoyed Kankurou to no end. She spent the entire meal asking embarrassing questions and Shikamaru, who was still half awake at the table, didn't get a thing of it. 

She ushered them out the door, Kankurou supporting Gaara, who could move, but not very efficiently, waving them off with a large grin on her face.

"That girl!" Kankurou exclaimed loudly, scooping Gaara into his arms and jogging down the hall. Gaara giggled quietly in his arms. "I th-think it's kinda funny…"

"You think so?" Kankurou asked the small figure in his arms, smiling.

Gaara nodded vigorously. Kankurou had reached the elevator and let Gaara push all the buttons. They went down, both feeling much more at ease than the last time they had made that trip and walked past the same receptionist from before.

Kankurou couldn't help but snigger at the look on the face of the lady, who had last seen Gaara unconscious and in pain. She seemed bewildered at the fact he was smiling.

They had reached the car. Kankurou put Gaara in the seat, which was still reclined, as Shikamaru had said that he shouldn't sit completely upright for a while. He went over to the driver's side and got in, starting the car. A song neither of them recognized was playing on the radio, but he and Gaara both caught a lyric:

"…_And now that I'm not just a dreamer…"_

* * *

Kyah! I don't own the song I used to lyric to right there, it's actually from F-ZERO I found out, and it's part of Captain Falcon's theme. I heard it before I knew that…I think it's a good song for Kanky and Gaara! Shu thought it first, too. 


	8. Raid!

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I'm like…really depressed and angry for no reason at the moment, there is seriously no explanation for it, so I'm trying to convert it into angst. UNLIKE my most recent chapter of LaF, this one will NOT be angst free.

Disclaimer: …Fuck you…

* * *

To say that Hyuuga Neji was pissed was an understatement. No, Neji was _beyond _pissed. He had woken up that morning to find not only was his boyfriend missing (which he couldn't have done by himself judging by the fact he had heard a couple of snaps when he stamped on his chest) and a note explaining what had happened. 

_Kankurou_ had taken him. Neji was really beginning to hate the older man, at the moment. He _knew_ – just _knew_ – that Gaara was cheating on him. It just made sense! Whenever Neji reminded him how worthless he was whom did he run to? Kankurou. Who always tended to his deserved wounds? Kankurou.

It was 'Kankurou this' and 'Kankurou that' whenever they had conversations, sometimes. He was sick of it. No, he was _not_ jealous, but Gaara was his, and rightfully so, the teen had a nice big love bite on his stomach to prove it.

He wasn't sure what he felt for the redhead anymore. He was going to break up with him, but then one thing had led to another, and he had ended up claiming the boy's virginity instead. He was a good fuck. Maybe he'd keep him anyways.

He realized where he was and slammed on the breaks, backing up a little and pulling into the parking lot. He got out of his car and slammed the door shut, stomping past the lobby and up the elevator to Kankurou's apartment.

Neji pounded his fist on the door a few times. When nobody answered, he growled. What were they doing, having sex? He hadn't bothered to check the parking lot for Kankurou's car. His hand found itself to the rusted doorknob and he twisted it roughly, surprised when it clicked and the door opened.

So he _was _home! He must've been, the door was unlocked! Neji stepped through the doorway and slammed the door behind him.

"KANKUROU!" he screamed out, hoping to get his attention. "GAARA! GET YOUR WORTHLESS ASS OUT HERE!" When no one came, Neji growled in annoyance. Gaara _always _listened to him.

He stamped around the apartment, overturning tables, chairs, and breaking a few picture frames and other breakable items, scouring around for the two objects of his rage.

After he had left the kitchen demolished, the living room unrecognizable, and knocked everything out of the cabinets of the bathroom, Neji came to the bedroom, glaring at closed wooden door.

He wrenched the doorknob and kicked the door open, where it slammed against the wall with a satisfying bang. The bed was made neatly; no signs of sex were there. This angering him, Neji yanked the covers from their tidy places and knocked over the dresser, cracking the mirror hanging over it with his fist. Luckily, the mirror only cracked instead of shattered when he had punched it, so he had no wound, but since the mirror wasn't completely destroyed, he took it and threw it against the opposite wall, growling in annoyance.

Another search of the place, not nearly as thorough, determined that neither Kankurou nor Gaara was anywhere within the vicinity, so Neji swore loudly and left a note taped to the door before slamming it behind him. He didn't bother with the elevator, stamping down the stairs and out of the building, getting back into his car and speeding his way home.

'_Where the fuck is that little slut?'_

* * *

Kankurou smiled as he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex. Gaara, next to him on the passenger side, had fallen back to sleep. He was so cute looking. He got out of the car and shut the door gently, not wanting to wake the redhead. 

When he opened the door to the passenger side, he had his arms ready so Gaara, who had been leaning against the door, didn't fall or wake up. Kankurou was grateful for this. With one arm, he reached over and undid the sleeping teen's seatbelt, lifting him into his arms, yet again, and shutting the door with his foot.

He had to balance Gaara on a knee as he opened the door to the building and maneuver it so Gaara didn't knock his head or feet on the edges of the doorway. Once he got into the lobby, he smiled at the receptionist and adjusted Gaara in his arms.

"Hi, there, Kankurou," the woman greeted. Over the months Kankurou had learned that her name was Ino, and though she was kind of on the shallow side, she was still a nice girl.

"Hey," he greeted casually, making his way to the elevator.

"Someone came in and stamped his way to the elevator earlier, but he left like…ten, fifteen minutes after he had come. Have no clue what he wanted, he definitely doesn't live here," she told him conversationally.

"Ah, well, thanks Ino-chan." For some reason, this knowledge gave Kankurou a little bit of a bad feeling. Were there burglars assaulting the residents again? Had he locked his door? He couldn't remember, but he usually did, even when he was in a hurry.

'Yeah, but not a _panicked _hurry,' a voice in his head told him. 'What if something happened?'

He shook off his conscience, telling himself he was just being paranoid and that his main priority (which was, for once, something not extremely critical) was to get Gaara to a nice, warm, soft bed. He was sure his arms couldn't be _that _comfortable.

The elevator had reached his stop, so he climbed out, again taking care to watch out for Gaara's feet and head. He made his way down the hall to his room, the only noise in his wake being the scratchy noise that was made when the rubber of the bottom of a shoe scraped tile.

He reached for his keys, again having to balance Gaara on his knee, but suddenly, an impulsion overtook him and he replaced his keys, instead reaching out and twisting the knob, holding his breath in dread.

A sinking sensation began in his chest when the lock clicked and he found himself pushing the door open with ease. He hoped nothing of great value had been stolen.

He stepped into apartment and felt his breath catch in his throat. The place looked like a tornado had run through it; the table was overturned, many household items scattered across the floor and picture frames cracked or destroyed entirely. He hoped the pictures were unscathed; things in the frames were one-of-a-kind.

He was about to go investigate the mess that was his living room, but decided it might be a good idea to put Gaara down, first. Passing through the kitchen, he was horrified to find it in the same state – the tap was running, the refrigerator and freezer doors open, the table overturned and random silverware thrown across the room. He bit his lip and quickly made his way to the bedroom.

'Well,' Kankurou thought sarcastically. 'At least the bed is still in the right place.' He set Gaara down and surveyed the damage done to _this _room: Blankets were astray and his dresser had been raided, random articles of clothing littering the area. Whoever had come by had not liked mirrors - the one that had hung over his now overturned dresser was shattered against the wall.

He made his way to the bathroom, deciding he would relieve himself before starting any cleaning. He groaned when he discovered that the bathroom was in as much disarray as the rest of his apartment and scooped up some of the medicine tubes and stuffed them back into their respective cabinets, sighing.

He had a lot of work to do. It would be best to get started soon, so he could finish before his two-week break was up. How much time did he have left? Three days? That might be enough.

Kankurou finished his business and made his way from the bathroom, choosing to ignore the mess in there and start in the living room. When he walked in, the first thing he noticed was a note taped to the door, which he hadn't seen before because it was on the inside.

Why would a burglar leave a note? He plucked the scrap of paper from the wood of his door, his expression darkening as he read through it:

_'Dear Kankurou –_

_Where the fuck is Gaara? What the fuck have you two been doing? I know there's something going on here! I'll come back, and I want him back or something's getting their ass kicked.'_

The rude note didn't need to be signed for Kankurou to know who it was. Of course. Who _else _would come into his apartment just out of random? A burglar wouldn't take any time coming up to his floor, which was pretty high up, unless they personally knew him, and Kankurou was sure he knew no burglars.

Neji. He wasn't getting Gaara, not until his ribs were healed. If he needed to fight the younger man, he would. He wasn't afraid to.

* * *

Three days after Neji's rampage came and went astoundingly quickly,Kankurou noted. He had let Gaara help a little bit with the restoration of his living space, but because of his injured ribs, he had forbidden the redhead to do anything that a toddler couldn't. 

Which pretty much meant he was picking up small, and without glass shards. Kankurou knew for a fact that Gaara's skin was a lot thinner and easier to cut through than his, from an unfortunate experience.

* * *

_The first day of fifth grade made Kazemiichi Kankurou feel very much like a big kid. He was walking to school without anyone older than him, accompanied only by his best (and younger by two years) friend, Gaara. His older sister, Temari, had gone off to middle school, and she had seemed so smug, leaving early in the morning to catch a bus by her lonesome._

_Hmmf. Well, that was okay, because the bus stop was just a little ways down from their house and he and Gaara got to walk down a busy street together, and he was the one in charge! Not that he'd ever boss Gaara around, but it was an exuberating feeling._

_Kankurou frowned when he saw, in the distance, a middle aged man with a bottle clutched in his hand, reflecting the morning light off it's clear surface._

_"Gaara, stick your hands in your pocket," he told the redhead beside him, who was currently content with sliding the sleeve of his hooded sweatshirt, which was encasing his hand along the brick wall next to them. At Kankurou's words, he blinked large, green eyes, but obeyed, shoving his hands into his pockets._

_"Keep your head down, too," Kankurou added, remembering Temari's words. The third grader next to him nodded, jamming his chin into his chest._

_Closer and closer the man came, and when he passed by, Kankurou could see that his hand was shaking. They had just gotten past him when they heard a shatter._

_Gaara whirled around to see what had caused the noise, and Kankurou followed suit. The man had sworn loudly and was crouching down to what appeared to be the remains of his bottle._

_Kankurou was about to turn and go on his way, remembering Temari's words of not talking to strangers, but Gaara's small voice made him freeze._

_"Um, sir, please, let me help with that…" the redhead was saying, going closer to crouch down along side him and scoop up some of the pieces. Kankurou sighed and figured it wouldn't hurt anyone, crouching down next to Gaara and helping as well._

_It had been a big bottle, and it had shattered into many pieces. When Gaara and Kankurou had gotten in their hands as many glass shards as possible, they stood up. The man nodded in thanks and turned to go on his way._

_There wasn't a trash reciprocal anywhere in sight, so Gaara suggested they just walk, with broken glass in their bare hands, to school, where there was most definitely a disposal area._

_Being only ten and eight, neither of them thought of the safety precautions they were breaking, so Kankurou decided it was a good idea and they continued._

_As they got a little closer to the school, an orange blob zoomed past, followed closely by an adult, the orange thing bashing into Kankurou's shoulder, who in turn bashed into Gaara's._

_Kankurou felt the glass move and stab into his skin, but on closer inspection, he was okay._

_"U-um…Ka-kankurou?"_

_Kankurou turned to face Gaara, scowling and mentally cursing the boy, who he knew as Uzumaki Naruto, in the third grade with Gaara. However, all begrudging thoughts of the nine-year-old faded when he saw Gaara's arm._

_It looked as though the glass had done what the glass in Kankurou's hand had done, but instead, it sliced open a wound, which bled, pooling upon his bare forearm, the sleeve pushed up to the elbow._

_Kankurou had clapped his sweatshirt-covered hand over Gaara's wound and hastened the way to school, where his cut needed to be bandaged._

_It was then that Kankurou realized just how _much_ more fragile Gaara was than him._

* * *

As he was getting ready for work, Kankurou let an absent smile play across his lips. They had been so innocent and carefree back then. Thoughts of boyfriends and being hit hadn't even crossed the angel-pure depths. 

If only it could be that way again…

He pulled on his jacket, catching sight of Gaara's expression from the corner of his eye.

"Gaara, look, I wish I didn't have to go either, but…"

"N-no…it's not that, Kankurou," Gaara said quietly. "I just…feel so weird being in your house without you…like I'm invading. Maybe I should go back to Neji's…"

"No! Please, Gaara, not yet. Just another day, and you'll be okay and I…well…I don't want you to go!" he cried, amazed that he had admitted that.

Gaara stared at him. "H-huh?" was all the redhead managed.

"I…I don't want you to go back to Neji…I know it's selfish, you love him, but I can't stand to see you hurt because of someone undeserving like him!" Kankurou spilled angrily, crossing the room in a few strides and wrapping his arms around Gaara, who seemed smaller than usual now that Kankurou had the added bulk of his jacket.

After a moment, Gaara responded, wrapping his arms around Kankurou as well. The older man tilted him back and smiled, leaning down to kiss him. Gaara closed his eyes and let him, wondering where, if Kankurou's claims of never being in a relationship were true, he had learned to kiss from.

"I'm sorry, Kankurou…" he told him when they had parted. Kankurou shook his head.

"No, it's me who should be sorry, I'm being selfish," he told him. "Please don't deny it, Gaara. I'll be back, okay? I just…I just want you to have one more day to recover to be sure the next time he stamps on your chest –" the thought of Neji doing it again made a blind rage shoot its way through Kankurou, but he pushed it down. "Your ribs don't puncture a lung or something, okay?"

Gaara gave him a small smile and nodded. "Alright…bye…"

And then he was alone.

It felt so strange, as he had said to be in Kankurou's house without the older boy. He didn't want to be like an intruder, like Neji had been, so carelessly uprooting things that could've had a lot of value, may it be sentiment or currency.

He couldn't even make himself turn on the television, his mind telling him that he would be wasting Kankurou's electric bill and make him need to work harder than he already did.

For a while, Gaara just sat there, in an air of tension although no one else was in the room but him. After a while, he couldn't take it and launched himself off the couch, making his way to the kitchen and pulling out a scrap of paper and pen.

_'Kankurou –_

_Look, I'm really, really, really sorry. I know you wanted me to stay another day to make a full recovery, but I've been feeling fine for days now, and I just can't stand being here when you're not, I feel so…so…_weird_, and so selfish and rude. I just can't take it. I promise you I won't be beat up the next time I see you, okay? Feel free to drop by…or, since that might upset Neji, I can drop by when he goes to work tomorrow, okay? I feel so wrong, but…I don't know…something compels me to be with you more._

_-Gaara'_

Gaara stared at the note he had managed to write, deemed it acceptable, and set it on the recently up-righted table. He was sorry, he really was, but he had to get back to Neji. Something told him that if he didn't, the older teen would explode.

He searched the front door for his shoes, and realized after a moment that he hadn't brought any, since Kankurou had scooped him up without shoes or a jacket.

Well, he'd be walking home barefoot, then. He'd done it before.

* * *

I'm kind of iffy about having that flashback in there, but you know, part of the love building up between them is their childhood friendship, and I feel that recalling that in flashbacks is a good idea to add onto it. Meh. Feel free to tell me otherwise. 


	9. Disappointment

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I need to redeem myself.

Disclaimer: Don' own it…nope.

* * *

The city was a dizzying blur of white and gray, twirling, seeming to mock all its passersby. 

Gaara didn't care. He kept running, bare feet numb against the frozen cement beneath him. He had lost all the feeling in his body ages ago (was it ages? It seemed like it…) but he kept running.

He needed to go home.

Neji would be so mad at him…he needed to go home and apologize. Maybe if he apologized enough, Neji would love him again. He'd hold him close and whisper sweet nothings, telling him of their future.

This optimism kept Gaara's feet pounding into the cold cement. He thought he must've cut his feet somewhere, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything. He just needed to get to Neji.

Building after building passed in a blur. He didn't know how he was going where he was, but he knew he had to keep going. If he stopped, it would all be ruined. If he stopped, he wouldn't be able to start up again.

Blindly, Gaara's throbbing feet took him to the front of a large building. The apartment. Overjoyed, he pelted inside, passing the startled looking receptionist and bounded up the stairs, flight after flight.

'If I take the elevator…I'll have to stop…If I stop…I won't be able to keep going…'

Finally, Gaara made it to Neji's floor, sprinting down the hall and pounding on the door. He wasnowforced to stop. His run across the city was catching up to him and the silver numbers on the door were beginning to blur and swirl.

Just when he thought he'd pass out, the oak door opened, revealing Neji's aggravated looking face changing to one mixed with surprise and fury.

"What the fuck? Get in here! What the hell are you wearing?" he interrogated, shoving Gaara to a couch.

The redhead shook his head, unable to answer for the time being, at least not until he could regain his breath. After a few minutes of panting, he raised his head, meeting Neji's questioning glare.

"I…I'm…sorry…" he gasped out, feeling all his strength leave him instantly. He couldn't tell Neji any more right now. He couldn't ask him why he had gone through the trouble of annihilating Kankurou's apartment.

He couldn't do anything. He blacked out.

* * *

Kankurou was never one who liked to take big breaks in things, work being one of those things. He was greeted with a chorus of "Hey, Kankurou!" and "Welcome back!" throughout the building, which he could only answer with a smile as he made his way to the cash register to relieve whoever was there of duties. 

Oh, great. It was_ that_ kid; Inuzuka Kiba. The younger man scared Kankurou. He kept giving him strange looks, staring at him on lunch break.

"Uh, hey, you can go home now," he told the brunette casually, his hands in his pockets. Brown eyes perked up, surprised at seeing him there.

"Hey! I've been worried about you man," he told him, moving so Kankurou could take his place.

"A-ah…it's nothing…Ibiki just thought I needed some time off, is all…"

"Lucky. If I asked for a block of off days, Ibiki would probably boot me out the door. I need to have money to take care of my dogs…kinda lonely, though," he said sadly, as if Kankurou was supposed to do anything about it.

"Ah…well…sometimes I have reasons…" he mumbled, not wanting to bring up Gaara to Kiba.

"Understandable. Ah, shit, I gotta get to school…I'm later than usual. Kurenai-sensei likes me, but not that much. See you around."

Kankurou blinked at where the younger man had been a moment before. Why had he told him all that? He sounded like he was expecting Kankurou to _care._ Well, not to be mean or anything…but Kankurou had enough to care about without adding Kiba into the mix.

The boy scared him.

It took him a while for his reflexes to get back to normal speed, taking longer and fumbling with the buttons than he should've. He had to ask several people what several of the products were priced; earning him some scowls from the customers and mutters about 'amateurs'.

Finally, though, after enduring four hours of a slight sense of embarrassment constantly, noon came, which was his lunch hour. He had already made up his mind to go home, maybe stopping to get something along the way, maybe not, but what he really wanted to do was check up on Gaara. The younger man always had a sense of insecurity in being at someone's house without that person (or anyone, for that matter) there with him.

Getting into his car, Kankurou drove back to the apartment, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even say 'hi' to Ino, who was busy painting her nails a shocking shade of purple anyways.

He took the elevator, feeling too lazy to walk up seven flights of stairs, and took a second to get oriented again. Elevators always had the strange effect on him that he was being squished down into the floor, or that he was being pushed through a rubber tube too thin for him to fit, but whatever was pushing him down kept insisting.

After he collected himself, Kankurou calmly walked up to his door, taking out his keys and unlocking the door. The door could be opened from the inside whether the outside was locked or not, so Gaara could've answered the door if he'd would've knocked, but Kankurou didn't feel like making the boy answer a door he could just as easily open himself.

Gaara, however, wasn't in the living room. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, the apartment was empty. Frowning, Kankurou checked the bedroom, hoping to find the panda-eyed redhead napping and bit his lip when he saw that the bed was neatly made, as it had been when he left that morning.

The bathroom door was ajar, and no Gaara was inside. That left the kitchen. He headed down the hallway, hoping to see a shock of red against the monotonous white that was his kitchen's theme, but his heart sank when there was no Gaara in sight.

There was, however, a piece of paper on the table, barely distinguishable from the white around it except for the pen-black scrawl Kankurou recognized as Gaara's penmanship.

As he read it, his heart sank further. Gaara had left…left to go back to Neji. He felt a little betrayed and rather lonely without the boy, and at the same time, kind of worried. Neji would be mad that Gaara had left…especially to be with _him._ There was no doubt the pale-eyed man was beginning to suspect things…he had always suspected, actually, but this time, his suspicions were somewhat correct.

Biting his lip, and not feeling very hungry at all, Kankurou decided not to stay at the apartment, but to go back to work. Maybe, just maybe, Ibiki would let him work on his lunch break.

* * *

Neji had just been surfing the Internet (again), hoping someone worth talking to would come online to talk to via AOL Instant Messenger. However, he was disappointed, and bored quickly, after running through the sites he visited so often. 

Finally, a friend of his from high school, Rock Lee signed on and Neji chatted with him for a while. However, just as the conversation was becoming rapid (A/N: You know the kind – where you have to type REAL quick to get your two-cents in…) a knock sounded at his door. It was frantic and so, with a growl of annoyance, Neji put up an away message, trudging over to the door.

When he answered it, he expected something stupid, anything. He hadn't, however, expected what he got. Standing at the door, looking near ready to collapse was Gaara.

Gaara; The same Gaara who went off to Kankurou every time he got hurt.

"What the fuck? Get in here! What the hell are you wearing?" he shouted before he could stop himself, pulling the small redhead inside and shoving him into a couch. The third question had been the only one he meant to ask, since the boy was wearing short sleeves and no shoes on his feet. Tch. Idiot. Well, Neji wasn't taking him to the hospital when he got sick.

Gaara, however, refused to answer him.

'They did something, then,' he concluded, taking Gaara's silence as an answer. He stood waiting, however, for a verbal response, which after several moments, Gaara gave.

"I…I'm…sorry…" And then the redhead blacked out.

Neji rolled his eyes. His 'boyfriend' was so weak sometimes. Sighing deeply, he threw the lightweight boy over his shoulder and carried him off to the bedroom. 'He might as well sleep somewhere comfortable if I want him to stay.'

Mumbling again in frustration, Neji returned to the computer, about to tell Lee he was back. To his severe disappointment, Lee had already signed off, telling Neji something about meeting his girlfriend.

Bored again, Neji signed off and out of boredom, went to check up on Gaara. If the redhead got sick, he'd have Hell to pay from Kankurou. Damn meddling fuck-toy stealer…he'd get rid of him eventually. Gaara had been _his_ first. _His_ fuck-toy. Not Kankurou's.

He was pleased to see that the redhead hadn't yet developed a fever, at least not one hot enough for Neji to sense with his hand. He didn't feel like digging out a thermometer for something like Gaara – if he was good in bed tonight, then that was all that Neji cared about.

This done, and Neji bored again, he decided to watch television but found that nothing worth his attention was on yet. Tch. It was all Gaara's fault.

_Everything _was his fault. He was a good object to put blame on. The best part was that he believed it. Neji told him he was fat; he stopped eating. Well, maybe that wasn't such a good thing, he did need Gaara to be _somewhat _healthy or Kankurou would freak out on him.

Tch. Kankurou was so annoying.

* * *

Kankurou was extremely bored without Gaara there. He wouldn't admit it, but he really missed the redhead. Watching television had never seen so lonely. Ever since he had carried Gaara to safety (as he liked to put it) they hadn't really had a day where they _hadn't _done some exploring, mostly kissing, and a few touches where Kankurou became very educated. 

He was about to go down memory lane to just the day before, when he had learned many sweet spots on the teen's body when his last thoughts replayed in his head.

He had _carried _Gaara to safety. Gaara hadn't been wearing a jacket or shoes! He had walked back to Neji's barefoot and jacketless! Today had been very snowy; they had managed to stock up on at least three or four inches of precipitation.

He hoped dearly that Gaara wasn't sick…it'd be partially his fault if he were. Why did the boy have to be so fragile? Kankurou didn't know. He wished he did, very often actually, so maybe, just maybe he could cure him from it.

Yeah, that would be nice. Gaara didn't deserve to get as sick as he did so often. He could only wait and see, though, since if the boy had walked home in pajamas, then he probably _was_ sick.

He had said that he would be coming over tomorrow…part of Kankurou couldn't wait. The other half of him, however, the one with reasoning, was worried that Gaara, even if he was running a high fever and ready to throw up would still make the journey. On foot.

Neji wouldn't _dare_ give him a ride. No, of course he wouldn't, he'd be at work. It was the only way the two of them could see each other was like this. It saddened Kankurou, he wanted a more open relationship with the redhead, but that would have to be put off until Gaara found a way to break the news to Neji.

'Or to you,' a voice in his head protested. 'He could end up dumping _you_, you know.'

Kankurou scowled at his own thoughts and their mistrust of Gaara, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Neji had come first…so would Gaara choose Neji over him?

'Is his judgment really that bad?' Kankurou's mind asked himself before he could stop it. He did, a little guiltily; secretly agree with it, though. Neji _hit _him for crying out loud! Why would he _want_ to go back to him?

'Because he loves him,' his smart-ass mind supplied.

Still. Neji obviously didn't love him back. Did that make a difference to Gaara? _He _loved him! _He'd _take care of him! It was all just a matter of who Gaara loved more…

Damn. Now he was putting the redhead on the spot without him knowing it.

* * *

Gaara felt his eyes slide open and at first wondered where he was. This wasn't Kankurou's bed. No, Kankurou's bed was a lot…stiffer from not being used. 

Wait, if he wasn't with Kankurou, where was he?

It took Gaara a minute of thought, but he finally managed to have everything come back to him - feeling uncomfortable in Kankurou's house without the brunette, running back to Neji's in pajamas, and the fact that his feet stung like nothing else.

Groggily, he sat up, noticing that his throat felt very dry and he wasn't breathing very well through his nose. It was stuffed, and badly at that. Trying to ignore it, and the pain in his muscles from his cross-city run, Gaara pushed away the blanket, gingerly bringing one knee to his chest to closely inspect his left foot.

There was nothing on the top, but Gaara knew that already. He maneuvered himself so he was staring at the bottom, sleepy, jade orbs widening. The bottom of his foot was cut up everywhere, not bleeding, at least not anymore, but scabbed and very tender. A couple of the cuts looked to be infected.

Biting his lip, but then remembering that he couldn't breathe through his nose and releasing it for oxygen, Gaara let his left leg slide back down, his foot hiding under the snuggly warmth of the blanket at the foot of the bed. (Or, rather, where his feet ended, since he was too small to reach the foot of the bed) He pulled up his right leg, knowing he'd see the same thing, but trying to will him self into thinking it was only one foot.

As he had known, though, this foot was also cut up, as badly as his left. He needed to bandage them; otherwise walking might reopen some of the more tender and inflamed looking ones.

Swiveling around so his feet were hanging off the edge of the bed (but not quite touching the floor) he lifted himself to his full height, getting a view of the clock. His eyes widened at the time; was it that late already? He had gotten back to Neji's house at maybe nine in the morning yesterday, and it was already one in the afternoon of the next day!

How had he managed to sleep that long? He never managed that unless he was…oh, no…not _now!_ He _couldn't_ be sick! Moaning in exasperation, Gaara limped his way into the bathroom, standing on his toes (which hurt, surprisingly enough, more than it would've had he just kept his weight on his entire foot, though there were no cuts on his toes) to reach into the medicine cabinet and pull out a bottle of eyeliner, bandages, and the thermometer.

Double tasking, he shoved the temperature-detecting instrument under his tongue and set to clumsily bandaging his feet. Gaara never bandaged himself, always claiming to be fine, but four days with Kankurou had given him the older man's common sense and he wrapped them tightly, testing his weight and smiling softly when it didn't hurt as much.

It did, however, feel kind of weird that his foot wasn't widening as he stepped down. Would his feet get narrower walking like this? That was the _last_ thing he needed, his feet being small and narrow, hardly able to fit into any of the men's shoes and some of the women's. Still, he pushed these random thoughts down and uncapped his eyeliner, painting on dark circles with the skill of years' usage. (A/N: It didn't take _me _years! (Been wearing eyeliner daily for…like…not even a month and has it somewhat mastered)) His last coat must've come off when he was sleeping; Kankurou bought the cheap stuff.

Gaara popped the thermometer from his mouth, holding it up to the light to get an accurate reading. He frowned when he saw he was running a fever of 99.8 degrees, but it wasn't that bad and he had had worse, so he let it go, throwing the instrument back into the medicine cabinet with a shrug and a sneeze.

He hobbled back into the bedroom (It was weird walking when his foot wasn't allowed to expand to it's full width) and dug through his dresser, finally finding a pair of pants and a long sleeved shirt. With a shudder and a reminder that he didn't really have a jacket that was good for this weather, Gaara dug deeper and unearthed a black hoodie with a random insignia on it; he didn't really care what it was.

After dressing and going back to the bathroom to try to make his hair lie flat (and failing) and brushing his teeth, Gaara went into the kitchen to scribble a note to Neji that he was going 'out', surprised to find one already there in a one-subject notebook they never used.

'_Don't you dare be dragging your fat ass to Kankurou's again. I_ will_ know.'_

Gaara swallowed hard. His mind was fighting itself, now. He had promised Kankurou he'd go and visit him, but Neji had just demanded him not to. He wasn't sure who to listen to.

Wait, wasn't it…he checked the microwave again…1:30 in the afternoon now? Kankurou would be off his lunch break…the only way he'd be able to see him would be to go to the café. Would that be okay? Gaara didn't know, so he excavated their phone-book, hardly touched, but they still bought them anyways, and looked in the 'M's.

After finding 'Maoshimao Café' and dialing the number, Gaara waited.

"Hullo, Maoshimao Café…" said a voice, as if he really didn't want to be there.

"Uhb…hi…is Kah-kurou there?" he winced at the obvious note of a cold in his voice.

"…Speaking," the voice said, as if he was used to getting called by people for personal reasons.

"Uhb…Hi!" Gaara said, trying to mask his cold-accent.

"…Gaara?" came the voice on the other line, which sounded distinctly more like Kankurou now. "Are you okay? You sound kind of…nasally."

"Uhb, I'b okay, actually. Look, I'b sorry that I didn't cobe to visit you od your lunch break…I slept late…" he said sheepishly, as if ashamed with himself for sleeping that late.

Was he? He wasn't sure.

"Oh, it's fine, really. Hey, are you okay? You were real stupid for walking home like that without a jacket or shoes!" Kankurou said sounding worried.

"Oh, it's dothing, really. I'b okay." Gaara decided to leave out the fact that his feet were littered in little cuts that made it hurt to walk without a heavy layer of bandages.

"…Are you sure? You sound sick…" Kankurou informed him, his tone not changing.

"It's prolly just a cold. I'b okay," Gaara tried insisting. "Look…uhb…I wadded to doe if I could cobe over add like…you doe, visit," he said. "But I wasn't sure if I could do that sidce your working add all…"

"No, no, it's okay. We're not getting much business, I could probably get you something and have you sit at a table," Kankurou told him. "It'd definitely brighten up my day – it's been so _boring!_ The café _never_ gets deserted like this, Ibiki's flippin' out." The older man sounded much more cheerful, now.

"Oh, but Kah-kurou!" Gaara exclaimed. "I cad't just…booch off you like that!"

"Gaara, it's nothing. Really. Plus, I doubt you've eaten since…whenever you went to sleep, I won't push you for it, so I'm sure you need to eat something. You're probably hungry," Kankurou said, stating the truth.

"…All right…also…I dod't think I cad visit your house for a bit…Deji kida forbade it…" he trailed off, sounding sad.

Gaara could practically see Kankurou's scowl. "Fuck Neji. You'll see who you want. He needs to get over this jealousy complex. Do you want me to come pick you up? Ibiki would probably not care, and I can only guess it's a pretty far walk, it'd be far for _me_ to walk," he told him.

"Oh, doe! Doe, doe, I'b okay to walk. It's on this side of towd adyways," Gaara lied. It would be a good half hour walk to get there, but he couldn't burden Kankurou like that. It'd be cruel.

"…All right….I guess that'd make sense, since we're on opposite sides of town…I can't believe you actually _walk_ all that way…" he trailed off. Gaara could hear the scraping noise of the mouth-piece of the phone against his cheek when he shook his head.

"It's dothing, really. I'll be right over, okay?"

"All right. See you soon, then. Bundle up, too, it's the coldest day in winter we've had yet!"

Click.

Great. Did he have another hoodie? He didn't think so.

* * *

WAH! I can't believe I managed to pump this out…I'm not feeling as disgusted with myself for writing…so that's good. Good, good, I'm getting over this. 

Ahh…and now to what everyone _really_ wants – LaF. I can't see _why,_ just as a warning, this next chapter is gonna be even sadder than the last.

Oh, oh, and also! I just realized I kinda stole the cold-accent from Ebony-chan in Carousel! ..Ack...sorry, Ebony...forgive me? And if it's too hard to understand Gaara, just tell me and I'll go back and fix it.


	10. Hi, ho, to Maoshimao we go!

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Hee…this might be a while…I don't know, I wrote myself out with the last chappie of LaF.

Disclaimer: Iiii own nothing! ..Oooo! (sings) SEN NO YORU WO, KESENAIIIIDEEEE! …I think those are the lyrics. …I don't own See-Saw, either.

* * *

After much searching around the house, Gaara finally found another hoodie. It wasn't his; it was Neji's, but it kept him warm. So, now bundled in two hoodies, both of which went past his hands to act as gloves, he thought he was prepared. 

Well, as he learned as soon as he stepped into the icebox beyond radiators, Kankurou wasn't kidding when he said this was the coldest day of winter yet. He really needed to get a real jacket.

He would brave it, though, for Kankurou! He noticed that it had snowed again, but thankfully, the sidewalks had been shoveled, albeit crudely. There was still a layer of snow, maybe an inch thick when it had been fresh and fluffy that had remained, hardening into an ice sheet from all the busy people walking over it.

Slipping more than once on the friction-free surface, Gaara made one block before he was out of breath. Surprisingly, walking on the ever-slippery surface took more energy than it should have.

Or maybe that was because his cold was getting worse. He really hoped it was the first one. Although, the second one, regrettably, would make sense, considering he was feeling rather dizzy and his head was pounding and burning at the same time.

He really hoped Kankurou wouldn't notice. Kankurou would worry, and Gaara hated to have Kankurou worry about him. Unfortunately, it sure seemed to happen an awful lot.

It took him a few seconds for his brain to realize that the pedestrian-aiding light across the street was flashing 'walk'. Gaara hurried across the road, knowing that if the light changed again, he'd be waiting for quite a while in the cold.

He found himself panting by the time he got to the sidewalk on the other side. This trip was really going to be long…but he needed to get there right away. Kankurou was expecting him, and knowing the older, protective man, he would think an alley cat or something raped him…

Was it just he, or was it getting colder every step? It was almost like Maoshimao Café would be the calm within the storm, but every step closer to it was more dangerous.

Kankurou would kill him when he realized that Maoshimao Café was not even _close _to where Neji lived, this storm was horrendous! This must've been the worst winter they had had in years.

Trying not to be pessimistic, which was proving difficult, Gaara struggled against winds, which were now strengthening. He needed to get to the café! There were just a few more blocks…he could do it…

…Or could he?

* * *

"Um, excuse me, sir…?" 

Kankurou snapped back to reality. He had been staring at the door again, completely neglecting his customer.

"Oh, sorry…what was that order again?"

The woman in front of him sighed impatiently and snapped her order to him. Getting it this time, Kankurou called to the back, telling her it'd be just a moment. This woman had been the only customer in hours. What had happened to the café?

Again, he was watching the door. The weather outside had steadily been getting worse after he had hung up with Gaara, as if it _wanted_ them to be yanked apart by such boundaries. He really should've just picked him up…this weather would harm the redhead…he could feel it.

Did Gaara even have a proper winter jacket? Kankurou was unsure; every time he had come over thus far in the winter season, his only form of protection against the bitter chill was a hooded sweatshirt.

No _wonder_ he got sick so easily…Kankurou would need to buy him a proper jacket. Something told him that Gaara would be visiting a lot more often than he used to, and he needed a jacket before February.

For some reason, February seemed to be the coldest month of the year.

However, there might just have been an exception this year, after all, it was only January, but Kankurou was pretty sure it was below freezing.

Great, those thoughts definitely weren't helping. He was very worried; Gaara had sounded sick on the phone, what if he got sicker coming out to see him? Kankurou didn't want that, Gaara had just gotten over being sick…

Of course, he also knew that Gaara being sick was somewhat inevitable, especially in winter. It seemed to always happen because of his immune system, but there was nothing they could do about it.

There _was_ medicine that could enhance his frail system, but Gaara never liked pills…to the point where if he tried to swallow them, his throat usually rejected them. They weren't sure if it was more a mental thing or not, but either way, he couldn't help his system.

'They make pills for everything nowadays,' he thought bitterly. 'Why can't people just go back to the syrup stuff? It tastes nasty, but it's easier to swallow most of the time…'

When the agitated woman's order came, Kankurou handed it to her, in too much of a daze to even bother counting out the money she handed him. Without separating it into the proper compartments, he shoved it into the cash register, lost in his thoughts and staring at the door.

When the door _did_ open, his head shot up, eyes focusing instantly on the figure that had entered.

…Damn, not Gaara. It was just Gai, one of the people who made the coffee sold at the café.

"AH, THE EXUBERANCE OF COFFEE!"

There was an audible moan that resonated through the building; no one really liked Gai. He was rather overzealous and Kankurou for once felt lucky that he was at the cashier – it was boring, but Gai was the kind of excitement you willed to go away.

"Oh, Kankurou, you look like you could use a good cup of coffee! Why are you so down looking?" Gai asked him. Kankurou cringed. Of _all _days, _why_ was Gai talking to him? He didn't want to hear _anything_ the bowl-haired, loud man had to say, not at all.

What was he supposed to tell him? 'Oh, I was hoping you were someone else. Sorry, I didn't want to see you at all'? He settled for not answering, hoping it would drive Gai off.

How long had he been working at Maoshimao Café? Six months? Seven? He should've _known…_Gai didn't take silence from anybody.

"…Kaaaaankurou?" he sang, poking him in the head. "Kankurou? Answer me! I'll make you some coffee! Come _on,_ answer me!"

However, Kankurou was no longer paying attention to the hyper man, he was far too busy staring at the door, which had opened again.

Red.

Gaara.

"Hey!" he called out, startling Gai, who pulled back instantly, looked at Gaara, shrugged, and skipped into the kitchen with loud greetings.

Kankurou made his way out from behind the counter (it's not like there were any customers anyways) and hugged Gaara, noticing instantly that the boy was shivering. He pulled back, frowning.

"Did you walk here in just a hoodie?" he exclaimed, Gaara's rosy cheeks and snow-covered clothing jutting out at him.

"T-two…" he told him, shaking.

"…That's not enough…you really need a jacket," he told him, shaking his head and embracing him. "Am I any warmer?"

Gaara nodded, instinctively snuggling into the warmth. After a moment of bliss, however, he sneezed violently, one icy, sleeve encased hand coming up to cover his mouth.

"…That reminds me…" Kankurou muttered absently, putting his palm to Gaara's forehead. Perhaps he was inexperienced, but the boy felt really, really hot. He needed a thermometer.

Sheepishly, Gaara pulled away from the touch – while his hands would've been warm anywhere else, they felt icy on his forehead, which currently felt like a volcano had exploded, the lava being his fever and the explosion being the earsplitting headache that had plagued him since he started his trek.

"You two lovebirds need to get a room!"

Kankurou felt a vein twitch. _Why_ must everyone interrupt them?

"Fuck off, Kakashi," he growled, turning to face his silver-haired companion, who was currently grinning from ear to ear. Most people wouldn't be able to tell, since Kakashi liked wearing a navy scarf around his neck and lower half of his face, obscuring most of his face from view. He must not have liked his face, since both that and his left eye were covered, the eye with a patch of silver hair that hung lank.

Kankurou, however, knew why he covered it: he had been in a fight back in high school and had gotten stabbed, leaving a scar over his eye and said eye not gone, but blinded and turned a bright scarlet.

Personally, Kankurou thought it was cool. But Kakashi's preferences about himself were the least of his worries. "Do we have a thermometer anywhere?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Ha, ha, that's funny," he said jokingly. Then, however, his tone changed to a voice dripping with sarcasm. "We work in a fucking _café,_ Kankurou."

Kankurou rolled his eyes. "We don't even have like…a first aid kit?"

"Kankurou!" Gaara piped up. He didn't want Kankurou spending this much attention on him.

"With Ibiki? You're funny, kid, real funny…" he walked back into the kitchens, leaving Gaara and Kankurou alone.

"…Well, you're running a fever, I know that much," Kankurou concluded. "And you shouldn't have walked over here. I'm driving you home – no buts!" he added at the look on Gaara's face.

"But-"

"Nope!"

"Kankurou,-"

"Don't want to hear it!"

"NEJI!" he cried, startling the older man.

"Wh-what?" Kankurou asked, confused.

"He…he doesn't know I'm here and he'll get mad at you…" Gaara mumbled, fiddling with the edge of the hoodie under the ice-coated one.

Kankurou's heart sank. When would Neji get out of the picture? Gaara was too afraid to be sneaky under the bastard's reign…

"Gaara…I don't care about Neji," he started, eyes narrowing. "He needs to get a life other than fucking you."

Gaara flinched, hid gaze drooping. Instantly, Kankurou felt bad. "…I'm sorry…" he told him, embracing the barely-legal redhead. "I keep depressing you!"

"No…no…it's okay…" Gaara said quietly. "I need to…to…you know…try to break away from him…" he whispered, as if afraid Neji could somehow hear him.

Something began to swell in Kankurou's chest, making a grin break out across his face, threatening to tear it in two. Gaara was finally starting to strengthen…soon, he'd be able to completely defend himself and walk away from that abusive control-freak.

"…I'm proud of you," he told him, still grinning. Gaara made a noise of question. "You're…you're trying to break away from him…Gaara, this is great…'cause…you really need to stop letting him walk all over you," he explained, rocking Gaara gently.

The redhead was silent for a while. Kankurou noted that his shaking had subsided and his body felt a little warmer in his arms. "I guess…" he finally mumbled, clinging to Kankurou's blue work shirt, which was by now soaked through from all the snow, melted or not, that had clung to Gaara's red locks.

"So, do you want something to eat? My treat," he offered, changing the subject.

"Oh, but I couldn't…"

"Gaara, 'my treat' means it's free because I work here so I have connections," Kankurou reminded him, playfully ruffling his hair. "Now, what do you want?"

"…Some hot chocolate would be nice…" Gaara told him in a small voice, poking his index fingers together. Kankurou laughed and bent down to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"You are so cute when you do that," he told him, going back behind the counter and disappearing behind the doors to the kitchen. Sighing, Gaara took a seat in one of those chairs that swivel, but don't roll.

He twirled around for a moment, amused by the way the white, gray, blue, and even the red of his bangs falling into his eyes swirled and blurred, creating a dizzying collage. After only a minute, though, he began to feel nauseous, though he hadn't eaten anything that day, and decided to sit still, staring and memorizing the graffiti on the tables.

"Karin (heart)'s Tristan"

"Jodie LuV's Mark"

And finally, only barely distinguishable on the white top of the table, nearly scrubbed off,

"Koga (deformed heart) Brian"

If he wasn't mistaken, Koga and Brian were both male names. He and Neji never expressed their affection publicly, even when it had been bountiful, since society was so cruel to homosexuals nowadays.

He had learned that the hard way.

* * *

_"Move it, fag…"_

_Fag. Faggot. Fairy. Flamer._

_He hated those terms, hated them so much, but it seemed that ever since eighth grade had began, his secret had gotten out. He wasn't _ashamed_ of his sexuality, oh, no, and he was by no means flaunting it publicly, but he hadn't wanted some of the bullies at school to find out, especially with Kankurou not in the same school as him._

_He knew it made him feel like a wimp, but he couldn't help it. Kankurou had always been there, and he had always been the perfect kid to pick on: Small, redheaded, and shy. _

_Maybe it was his hair color, but he had always been distinguishable in crowds. Maybe he should just dye it black or brown…then he'd mix in easier and…_

"_I said _move _it!"_

…_Things like this wouldn't happen. Flinching as he was shoved aside, he made his way through the hall, though he knew that he'd be late for class. _

_Why was homosexuality so bad? It wasn't like he could help it…after he had confessed to his mother that he was pretty sure he was gay, she had launched into an hour-long rant about how most of her brothers were all gay, and it was therefore on her side of the family._

_It wasn't fair to hate something that couldn't be helped._

* * *

In high school, he had learned to start hiding the fact he was gay, not telling anyone, but never dating, either. Word had gotten out two years ago when Neji had asked him out, which was part of the reason he had dropped out. 

Neji was a gorgeous person with long, ebony hair and eyes that penetrated you to your very core. All the girls loved him and as for the gays, well, most of them admired him in secret.

...When he had been in high school.

Gaara had comenear the endNeji's reign of swooning girls and internally swooning boys, and yet it had been he who had been sought out by the drop out. He had been a sophomore when Neji left, but in truth, while her had been there,he hadn't really cared either way, trying to block out all feelings of attraction towards anyone. His bullies had followed him to high school.

Once he left, Gaara didn't really care either way. At least, not until Neji asked him out a year later. All the girls had glared at him with nasty, falsely intensified glares, and his bullies had found out, tormenting him with it verbally.

Kankurou didn't know about it. Nor did his mother; as far as they were concerned, high school education was getting him nowhere, so he had been allowed to drop out without home argument or shunning from his friends.

Life had been good for a while, a year and a half approximately. But he had made Neji hate him; he had been bad. There was no chance of bringing Neji back…none at all…

Should he just let him go and move on? He wanted to; Kankurou promised much better things in a relationship, and for longer, but…

He hated to say it, especially in front of Kankurou (He saw him flinch every time he mentioned it) but he still loved Neji, if even just a little. It was so confusing; he loved Kankurou, he had been able to assess that, but…there was Neji…

Placing his head on the cool surface of the table, Gaara willed the headache building up to go away; he didn't need this. Apparently, he was already sick.

* * *

…Junsui Kegasu has a special announcement for all who read her fics. (Both of them): 

REVIEW. HAUNTED.

See, I KNOW you all want me to get it on with LaF, but I was truly disappointed with only getting 6 reviews and 51 hits for the last chapter since it was posted over a week ago. LaF, on the other hand, has 12 reviews and over 90 something hits since it was posted five days ago.

Yeah.

I was kind of sad, I want reviews for this; it's my baby. I don't get inspired without reviews, and thus far, I have stuck very, very, very strictly to my original plan of updating LaF, then Haunted, then LaF, and so on and so forth with the occasional new fic thrown in every so often.

Neglecting this won't make me go onto LaF faster, it'll just slow this down.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't complain – my sister is lucky for one review a chapter, but…you know, it's below my average…I was just a little disappointed and thought that (since I apparently need to speak my mind) I should tell you all that.

…Review puh-wease!


	11. I do then I don't Wanna

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Yay! We're back up to my average number of reviews per chapter! I'm happy with you all!

Disclaimer: I don' own it! COME ON NOW, I'VE BEEN WRITING FANFICTION FOR SEVEN MONTHS!

* * *

After their light lunch at the café, Gaara began to get nervous about if Neji was home or not, so Kankurou begrudgingly decided to take him back. He didn't want Gaara to leave yet, but the redhead wanted to go back, and he couldn't for the life of him defy the look on his face. He had looked somewhat scared and pleading with him. 

Puppy-dog eyes.

Kankurou couldn't resist them, especially when they were set in that already-adorable face. Gaara's eyes shone with persuasion, although, judging by the boy's personality, he didn't know that, and Kankurou gave in instantly. He'd have to learn to stop looking at Gaara's eyes. It was dangerous.

In the car, he could tell that Gaara felt bad. He had his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around him. Was he even wearing a seatbelt? Kankurou couldn't tell, but normally, he was a careful driver, so it really didn't matter, unless they got pulled over. The chances of that were slim, so he didn't worry about it that much.

Feeling that the silence was too much, he cleared his throat so his voice wouldn't have that clogged edge to it like it did when he didn't speak for a while. "Gaara," he started, making the redhead next to him turn to face him. "If you want, I can stay with you…Neji shouldn't be home yet, it's only 4:15. You said you didn't know when he'd be back, but chances are, it'll be five."

Gaara considered this, and then nodded. "O-okay, if you…really want to…" he told him, but Kankurou could tell that he was afraid. He must've really feared Neji, Kankurou concluded with a surge of anger. How _dare_ that boy scare someone so innocent as Gaara? He'd get him away from the bastard if it were the last thing he did…

They were at the parking lot. Kankurou made a sharp turn through the driveway, causing Gaara to yelp and, because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, fall over the storage compartment in the middle, his face planted firmly in Kankurou's lap. Pulling incorrectly into a parking space so that he was taking up two of the lined off areas of asphalt, Kankurou blushed, screeching to a halt.

They stayed in that position for less than half a second before Gaara, blushing furiously, pushed himself up and flattened against the car door. When he blushed like that, Kankurou noted, he was downright adorable. He hoped he wouldn't explode; it was off the cute-o-meter.

"Oh, my god, Kankurou, I am _so sorry!_" he cried, bringing his hands up to hide his face. Laughing, Kankurou moved a little closer, though Gaara couldn't see him, his hands attempting to hide his shame and embarrassment. He resisted the urge to pull Gaara to his chest and make out in the car, instead grinning and pulling one alabaster hand away from his scarlet face.

"It's fine, really," he told him. "Now, tell me, what lesson have we learned today?" he added out of jest. Gaara blushed deeper.

"N-no driving wh-when you're excited?" he asked, voice timid. His words caused Kankurou to break out into a blush, rivaling Gaara's in color. His hormones had been giving him a horrible time lately, and the prospect of staying with Gaara alone again made his overactive imagination go wild. Certain organs just couldn't resist…

"Actually," he said, clearing his throat and willing the blood to go back down. "I was going to say to always have your seatbelt on."

His words made Gaara break out into another blush frenzy, giggling softly beneath his hands and bringing his knees up to his chest. "I'm still sorry," he said after a moment, calming down, and his face now pink instead of bright red.

"Don't be, it was partially my fault for making that turn," Kankurou countered, smirking inwardly, knowing Gaara couldn't find an excuse for that. As he suspected, Gaara stayed silent. He gave the boy a moment of thinking before beginning to speak again. "So, are we going to go up?"

Gaara nodded furiously, reaching behind him and opening the door, stepping out quickly and closing it. Following his lead, Kankurou got out on his side; gently shutting the door out of the paranoia every car owner (at least _my_ parents) has that their car doors will break off if they shut it too hard. The fresh air felt good on his previously hot face and, back to normal, as normal as he could be, he began to make his way to the door, knowing Gaara would follow whether he heard him or not.

They walked to the doors together, an awkward silence washing over the atmosphere. It seemed that Gaara was afraid to say anything, and Kankurou was unsure how to respond to that. Neither were ones to start conversations, it just kind of happened sometimes. The uneasy feeling in the air, he swallowed nervously. It had to be him to break it.

"Um, Gaara?" he started, unsure what he wanted to say to the boy.

"Mm…hm?" Gaara responded absently, staring at his mobile feet like they were the most interesting things ever. He was obviously still flustered, refusing to come even close to making any eye contact.

"Um…" Kankurou thought for a second. There had to be something he could mention to the redhead. "Are you hungry?" Good job, Kankurou. Of _course_ he wouldn't be hungry; they had just came from a café!

"…No…" Gaara told him, giving him a look that was questioning his sanity. "I just ate with you at Maoshimao…remember?" It must've been obvious right then that he had been trying to relieve the tension, because Gaara's eyes lit up in understanding and he nodded, a small smile spreading across his features.

"Yeah…sorry. Look, why don't we just forget that happened?" Kankurou asked, nearly begged. He hated having tension between them since there was nothing he could do to stop it, usually. He wasn't good with words; that was more Gaara's forte, and only when the boy decided to speak his mind.

Thinking for a moment, Gaara nodded, smiling a little wider. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he agreed, taking his gaze off of his shoes (which still looked black and dirt as usual to Kankurou) and focusing ahead of them. Ignoring the receptionist at the desk, they walked to the elevator, Gaara pushing the button to Neji's floor.

When they reached the apartment, Gaara nervously looked around as if to ensure that Neji wasn't home. Kankurou knew the man wasn't; the house wouldn't so eerily empty and silent. Neji, judging by Gaara's apprehension of leaving the building anyways, would've been jumping out at him, demanding to know where he had been. He didn't know it, but his suspicions had an astounding accuracy.

When they were both assured that the cost was clear, Gaara pushed the door open wide enough for Kankurou to go through (Before, it had been wide enough for only his small frame to slip through, which wasn't very far at all.) and entered, slipping off his shoes and pushing them with his foot to the side.

Gaara, seemingly still afraid that Neji would jump out of nowhere, checked all the rooms of the residence before being completely assured, slumping down on the couch. Kankurou watched with mild amusement, but mostly, he was angry with Neji for intimidating his friend so much.

Actually, what could he consider Gaara now? He was more than a friend…they had kissed. They had touched, too, he remembered, blushing gently. He wanted to do that again. Acting on his thoughts, he walked to where Gaara sat, his eyes closed and slumped over on the couch. With stealth acquired of knowing the redhead for years, he silently lowered himself so he was at Gaara's level, staying there for a moment.

Without any warning, he darted forward slightly, planting a soft kiss on Gaara's nose. The boy's jade eyes opened wide in surprise before he sneezed, his hands coming up to cover his nose and mouth just in time. This was possibly the cutest factor about the boy, in Kankurou's opinion, and he chuckled gently, with one hand removing Gaara's hands from his face and leaning in to kiss him.

Before they could get far, Gaara broke it off, his eyes lit with something. "I have an idea!" he proclaimed. Wiggling out from under Kankurou, he ran to the kitchen, stumbling slightly on his way. Kankurou sat there, confused and disappointed. What was Gaara up to that he would break a kiss?

Curiosity seizing him, he too got up and padded into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe and watching Gaara as he rummaged for something. Gaara finally unearthed a portable phone and he quickly dialed some numbers, his excitement apparent as he held the device up to his ear. Kankurou gave him a look that plainly asked what he was doing, but Gaara held a finger up, mouthing 'hold on.'

"Hi, is Neji there?"

What was Gaara getting at, calling Neji like this? Even Kankurou, knowing him for years, couldn't figure it out, so he opted to just watch, confusion apparent on his face.

"Hi, Neji? Yeah…no, no, I haven't…u-um…"

Kankurou could faintly hear Neji over the line, telling the redhead to make it quick so he could get back to work. Frowning, he exited the room, searching around until he found the other phone, not a portable, and picked it up as quietly as possible.

"W-well…I just…just wanted t-to know what time you'd be back," Gaara was saying, his voice losing the confidence it had gained when he had been with Kankurou.

"Five thirty. Why?" Neji sounded suspicious. Slight fear rising in him, Kankurou hoped that Gaara could find a good excuse.

"I-I wanted t-to…you know…m-make you dinner," Gaara mumbled. He could practically see the redhead start to fiddle with his sleeves or bringing his hand up to chew on the fingernails.

For a minute, there was silence on the other end. Thinking that Neji had hung up, like the rude bastard he was, Kankurou was about to put the phone down, but in the process, he heard the familiar snap again. Bringing it back to his ear, he listened intently.

"-be there at quarter 'till then." More silence. Then, words that Kankurou was unsuspecting to hear: "Thanks."

"M-mhm!" It sickened the brunette to hear the euphoria in Gaara's voice. He knew why it was there; Neji had thanked him. He hadn't called him stupid or hit him (partially because he couldn't) but thanked him for his efforts. It was sad that something that simple could make Gaara light up so brilliantly, and Kankurou wanted to someday rid him of such low appeasing rates. Unable to listen to any more, he hung up, the mood sinking. He'd need to make it up to Gaara later.

His steps back to the couch were slower, almost sad. When he got to the leather cushions, he collapsed onto them, waiting for Gaara to return. When the boy did, it was with such a smile on his face that Kankurou couldn't help but return it. No matter how badly it depressed him how Gaara could get happy over the tiniest things as a result of Neji's abuse, he smiled back, agreeing with him, trying to boost his confidence further.

"Guess what!" Gaara said, gleefully attaching himself to the older man's arm.

"What?" he feigned, trying to keep Gaara in a good mood this time. 'Not like when he lost his virginity,' he reminisced, grimacing inwardly. Against him, Gaara beamed, though Kankurou couldn't see it. He could, however, practically feel the happiness radiating from his small form.

"I found out when Neji would be home! A-and…and he said 'thank you'!" he chirped, excited. Kankurou smiled, but inside, his heart broke. Gaara deserved so much better…

"Well, that's good!" he said, hoping he didn't sound fake. If he did, though, Gaara couldn't tell, far too happy. Trying to be optimistic, Kankurou forced a smile, remembering that it was good for Gaara to be feeling as he was. He leaned his head over, resting it on Gaara's crimson spikes.

'Whoa, his hair smells good,' Kankurou decided, taking a deep whiff of strawberry. It seemed to suit him, perhaps because he always associated red with strawberries and Gaara. Gaara snuggled into his shoulder, his knees up against his chest. Smiling, the brunette wrapped an arm around Gaara's thin shoulders, trying not to frown when he felt how bony they were.

Without much warning, he took his other hand and tilted Gaara's chin towards him, capturing petal-soft lips in a crushing kiss. Surprised only for a moment, the redhead kissed back, his eyes involuntarily sliding shut. Kankurou had more will power than the boy next to him and kept his open, switching positions so that Gaara was pressed sandwiched between the couch and the older man.

"Nn…K-kankurou," he murmured when the brunette turned his attention to his neck, suckling gently at a sweet spot, grinning against the soft, pale flesh when Gaara tilted his head to the side, allowing him more access, which he took, greedily dominating Gaara's thin neck with nipping and suckling, being careful to not leave marks where Neji would notice them.

His hand sneaking up under Gaara's shirt to roam around, he moved back up to Gaara's mouth, surprised when Gaara put up a (feeble) fight for dominance against his tongue, but enjoying it all the same. Subconsciously, his hips were moving against the redhead's in a slow, steady motion. Remembering a certain spot on the redhead's body that had made him make a particularly loud noise, Kankurou moved his hand to the back of the smaller boy's thigh, slowly moving upwards.

Moaning semi-loudly, and panting in an adorable, but at the same time, sexy way, Gaara thrust his hips upwards, just a few times, his hands finding Kankurou's hair and gripping it tightly. His back was arched, and Kankurou, who had been under the compulsion to just keep moving quickly for the past minutes, slid his hand up more, finding the front of Gaara's waist band and worming his hand into it.

This was unexplored territory, and he used the touch-and-go method, trying to figure out which spots (other than the obvious) would make Gaara moan louder. He captured an earlobe with his mouth, sucking gently and nibbling, his hand plunging back up Gaara's shirt, lifting it a few inches to expose a creamy stomach. Gaara made no move to keep his thrusting subtle; even if he had, Kankurou would've felt it with the hand that was in his pants.

"K-kankurou…" Gaara whispered, his breath coming in uneven pants, attempting to use his hips to move Kankurou's hand to where he wanted it. Kankurou, however, found himself in a 'mood' and decided to tease him, not letting his hand be budged by the movements and moving back down to Gaara's neck, merely ghosting his breath upon it now. Beneath him, Gaara shuddered wildly, mewling softly.

"P-please, Kankurou!" The brunette couldn't take it anymore; Gaara was practically begging for him now. Removing his hand from where it had been dancing on Gaara's inner thigh, he unbuttoned the smaller man's pants, trying, despite himself, to go slowly, just to see what kind of reaction he could get out of Gaara. He would best Neji in this!

Unbuttoning pants was hard single-handed, as Kankurou soon discovered, and he had no sooner gotten the annoying task completed when the lock in the door clicked. Neither boy heard it, lost in a spiral of lust. Kankurou was lifting Gaara's very loose shirt(s) from his body when the door opened, revealing a surprised, stunned, and then angry Neji.

"GAARA!" he screamed. Beneath Kankurou, Gaara jumped, and all action stopped. It had seemed as though the room had ceased to breathe, even. He could feel the redhead shaking, and he even felt himself slightly afraid of the malice in Neji's eyes. They had been caught…now what? It seemed as though this should've been inevitable, but they still had no idea what to do.

"GET OUT!" Neji shrieked again, this time at Kankurou. Taking one final, fear filled glance at Gaara, who nodded, begging him to not be part of this, he got up, biting his lip. Neji would surely kill him, he looked angry enough.

"G-go, Kankurou," Gaara told him, quietly. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but in the presence of Neji, decided it was best not to. Finding that he had full trust in Gaara, he nodded, walking slowly, shakily, to the door.

Gaara knew he was in for it as soon as Kankurou left. Neji loomed before him, seeming to tower even more over his small body when he was this enraged. Suddenly, he was self conscious of the fact that his pants were unbuttoned and had slipped down to his thigh, that he was shirtless. Neji didn't remark on anything though. In fact, Neji said nothing at all.

Silence leaked its way in, suffocating everything. It was Neji, who was a lot stronger than Gaara, who broke it, his face showing disgust, hatred, and was he hurt, too? No, it must've been a trick of the lighting; Neji didn't care. Never had Neji cared; Kankurou cared! Or, had he? Had he cared and was too violent to express it? Gaara was unsure.

"You little _slut!_ I told you to never see him, and what do I find when I come home early? Hm?" His voice had a hysteric edge to it, and he was leaning closer to Gaara. Afraid of how close and dangerous the man was getting, the redhead sat up, shaking gently as he buttoned his pants and tried to find his shirt. It was all the way across the room, out of his reach without getting past Neji first.

Noting that Gaara moved away, Neji got closer, until he was mere inches away from Gaara and the man could smell his breath. Unsurprisingly, it reeked of alcohol, and Gaara knew that either way, whether Kankurou had been here or not, he would've probably gotten hurt for something. Obviously, it would've been something much more trivial and possibly forgivable than this, but he still would've been beaten, possibly to the point of needing to escape to Kankurou again.

"You belong to me," he hissed, tracing Gaara's jaw line. "And me only." As if to ensure that, his lips

_(the taste it burns I don't drink get the alcohol away from me please Neji stop stop stop stop **STOP!**)_

crushed against slightly swollen ones, devouring him, but Gaara found that he wasn't enjoying it at all and didn't kiss back. Angered by this, Neji tried to dig deeper, but Gaara kept his lips firmly closed until the raven-haired man yanked on his hair, causing him to gasp in pain.

Where was his hand going? No! That was Kankurou's territory! But Neji had had him first, hadn't he? No, he didn't want this…he couldn't let this happen.

* * *

"_You need to speak your mind, more, you know?"_

* * *

"_Gaara, at least defend yourself every so often!"_

* * *

"_Oh, my god, honey! Are you okay? What did that do to you? Gaara, you should've told somebody!"_

"_They _told_ me not to tell…"_

* * *

"_One day, you'll be able to do it. I can read your mind."_

* * *

He could do this. He was _going_ to do this. As Neji's hand got nearer and nearer to danger, he bit down on his tongue, causing the man to yelp and break the kiss. Glaring at him, he gave him a slap across the side of his head that left his ears ringing, but he wouldn't give in this time. 

"Neji, stop! Y-you hurt me last time, I don't want to do this!" he blurted, causing Neji to stop and stare at him in surprise. It was short lived, however, and Neji growled, telling him that he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"No! Neji, _I don't want to do this!"_ he cried, pushing a startled Neji away. The man wasn't used to Gaara doing this; it was new. When he had managed to obtain enough room to dart away, he slid out from beneath Neji, not even bothering to button his pants again, darting out the door.

"KANKUROU!"

* * *

HA! I END IT! Okay, a few announcements: 

PLEASE TELL ME HOW THE CITRUS WAS, I AM SOOOO PARANOID! I mean, I wanted to do it, but I have NO idea how the quality is…

The next chapter is the end. Coincidentally, so is LaF's…wow. That wasn't supposed to happen.

I am going out of town until Tuesday. I'm bringing a notebook to write, but I'm not posting any warnings on LaF. So, yeah.

See you on Wednesday!


	12. Exorcised

Haunted

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: As much as I didn't like the last chapter…here you go.

Disclaimer: …………(SIGH)

* * *

Why had he fled? It was a stupid decision, one that he seriously regretted. He wished he had a watch so he'd know how long Gaara was in there, because he was sure it hadn't been eternity. It couldn't have been an eternity, not yet, not quite yet. 

Without realizing it, he had begun to pace the entire length of the hallway, back and forth, his mind lost in a swirl of memories. How had it all come to be like this? Why wasn't it happy like it had used to be?

Happy…

_Like it used to be…_

* * *

"'_Kurou, 'Kurou, look!"_

_Kankurou looked up from where he was attempting to figure out his math homework. Temari was standing excitedly by the window of their house, looking out with her face pressed against the frosted glass._

"'_Ri, that must be cold," he told her as he got up, abandoning the difficulties of two-digit addition. To his surprise, there were people next door. The house had been vacant for nearly a year now, and now there were people. He was confused about it, though. The owners of the house had moved all the way from Tokyo to Toyohashi, they weren't planning on coming back._

"_There are new people there!" his sister told him excitedly, beaming. "We should go meet them!"_

_Why she was so excited, he couldn't tell. The previous inhabitants in that house had been very mean, yelling at him and Temari whenever they were playing outside and the ball accidentally rolled onto their lawn, unprotected by a fence to separate the two families. His mind processed that these people would be just as mean._

_However, he also knew that he should be polite, since that's what his mother always told him. So, following Temari down the stairs and grabbing his winter jacket, he tried to compose himself. Being polite meant that he was to not yell out, always use '-san', and no slang. He could do that._

"_Mama, we're going to see the new people!" Temari called out. When no response was given through the semi-large house, they shrugged in unison and left, making sure to slam the door so that their mother might hear it and know they had gone outside. There was little snow on the ground, just barely a frost to cover the ugly, dead grass. Kankurou scowled; to him, being cold without snow to play in was the worst kind._

_They crossed over to the other lawn to see what was going on. A man and a woman were busy piling numerous boxes out of a truck. Kankurou recognized the bold print written on the side to read 'U-Haul'. Near the woman, practically attached to her, was a redheaded boy, obviously younger than he and Temari._

"_Mommy, I wanna help!" he was saying, clinging to her and making the bulky looking jacket he wore adjust to his movements awkwardly. "I can carry the little stuff!"_

"_Gaara, please go inside, you'll get sick," the woman said, giving up her task of attempting to drag a large, heavy looking box from the cargo section of the truck to scoop him up, turning to go to the house. In the process, she spotted the seven and eight year olds standing on the edge of their part of the lawn and smiled. "Hello!"_

"_Hi," Temari chirped, better with strangers than Kankurou was. "Do you need any help?" _

_The woman beamed, the usual thoughts of 'oh, what a sweet child!' probably passing through her mind. Temari could be such a suck up. Kankurou didn't understand why she couldn't be this nice to _him.

"_Oh, all of this is far too heavy for you guys! Here, why don't you take Gaara and go inside the house to play?" She set the redhead down on his feet again. He looked in the direction of Temari and Kankurou once before shyly turning his head to bury it into his mother's stomach._

"_Y-you mean in _your_ house?" he asked, bewildered. When the old people had been there, they hadn't been allowed _near_ the building, and now they were invited into it._

"_Why, of course!" she told them, then crouched down to her son's level. "Gaara, please go with them. They're nice people, I'm sure, and Daddy and I still have to unpack things, okay?"_

"_I can help," the boy mumbled stubbornly. "I'm strong!"_

_Smiling, she stood up and ruffled his hair. "I'm sure you are, but you don't want to get pneumonia again, do you?" When he shook his head, she continued. "Please go inside and play. It'll be okay."_

_After a long moment of hesitance, the boy turned to face Temari and Kankurou._

"_Hi!" the girl said, smiling brightly. When Kankurou said nothing, she elbowed him sharply in the side. "Ow! I mean…hi, I'm Kankurou," he told him, scowling gently at his sister. To both of their surprise, the redhead giggled softly, bringing up a thickly covered sleeve to try to muffle it. _

"_I'm Gaara," he said, some of the shyness leaving his voice. "We just moved."_

"_I can see that," Temari noted, her and Kankurou getting closer to the boy. "We live right there." Helpfully, she pointed to the house behind them, still smiling._

_Without another word said, Gaara led the older children up the stairs and into the house, softly closing the door behind them. It was a strange sight to witness, as the house was still completely bare, except for that the living room had carpet installed. All three of them took off their shoes and Gaara offered to take their coats._

_Being so small, the boy looked rather humorous with his coat and two larger ones as he walked around for a moment, finally deciding on a closet at the foot of the stairs, to the right of the door, to hang them up in. He beckoned them to sit on the floor, which they did, somewhat awkwardly._

"_So, how old are you, Gaara?" Temari started, still smiling. 'I hope the smile breaks her face in half,' Kankurou thought, feeling the childish resentment against his sister for living with him and being older. Shyly, Gaara held up one hand, indicating he was five. _

"_Oh," she said. "I'm eight, and 'Kurou-chan" he scowled at the nickname "is seven."_

"_Oh."_

"_I think we're going to be really good friends!"_

_After that, there was a lot of silence, somewhat broken by the gentle snap of strings of the carpet being pulled from their bindings by Gaara, who moved the strange fabric in between his fingers, amused. Finally, after a bit, Kankurou, hating the eerie ringing that resounded in his head, broke it, scuffing a sock-encased foot against the carpet._

"_So, where did you move from?" He felt stupid after asking the question, remembering how when he had been in kindergarten, it had been difficult to remember things like cities, streets, addresses, and phone numbers. To his surprise, however, Gaara answered without a moment of hesitance._

"_Ibusuki. (1)" When his new friends gave him a blank look, he tried to describe it. "It's…it's…um…um…well, there's…a lot of sand," he told them with difficulty. "Mommy can tell you when she's not busy."_

"_I see. Well, Tokyo has a beach." Temari stated. "It's really pretty. 'Kurou and I go there a lot, but only in the summer, not when it's cold like how it is now."_

"_Oh." Large green eyes widened softly in a new sense of knowledge before Gaara blinked. "We lived on the beach…my school was by the beach too."_

"_Whoa, that's neat! Did you go on fieldtrips a lot?" Kankurou loved going to the beach. The sound of waves lapping up against the firm, soaked sand mesmerized him, and he couldn't help a tiny twinge of envy directed towards the five-year-old child. Still, he tried to hide it when his new friend nodded, any tentativeness sapped into the air._

"_Yeah! I love the sand…it's fun to play with," he informed them, drawing patterns into the rough carpet again. A minute later, there was a scraping sound against the wall, echoing loudly through the empty room and making all three children jump and turn into the direction of the sound. Standing, just beyond the doorway, was a figure, probably a woman judging by the somewhat-clingy jeans, carrying a stack of boxes that reached above her head. How she was carrying it all, none of them knew._

"_Mama!" Gaara cried, jumping up. Kankurou noted, with a sense of amusement, that he was not very tall at all, nearly pathetically puny. Behind the woman appeared a man, carrying a stack not nearly as tall as his wife's, so the siblings got a view of his face. It was obvious that Gaara had gotten his hair from the man, but his face was much more tanned and sharper looking than his son's._

"_Well," Temari began, standing up and wiping her palms on his jeans. "I think we should get going, right 'Kurou?"_

_Kankurou blinked, but recovered and nodded. "Yeah, it's almost dinner time."_

"_It was nice meeting you!" his sister called as they left the house, waving. As they walked back over the short distance between the houses, Kankurou didn't think much of meeting a new friend at that moment, as a matter of fact he didn't even think they'd end up being very close. At the time, he didn't know it, but he was sorely mistaken._

* * *

A lull in his pacing synchronized with the lull in his thinking. Yes, back then innocence had reigned upon them all. At the mere age of seven, he hadn't expected Gaara to even stay long. He had thought of him as a twerp who probably got sick a lot. While he had been correct about the latter, Gaara had proven that he really wasn't as pathetic as he sometimes let on. 

He hadn't ever let himself become trapped in the agony that homophobic teenagers caused him, only pushed through it. He had never _flaunted_ his chosen sexuality, and yet he was still labeled. Kankurou did whatever he could to make Gaara's life a little more manageable, but he didn't want the help. Rarely could he defend himself, even verbally, but he didn't want people doing it for him.

That was, perhaps, why Kankurou was so worried. Had Gaara told him to leave just so he wouldn't help? As much faith as he had in the redhead, Kankurou really doubted that he would stand up to Neji. Remembering all the times his friend had come to him in tears because of his boyfriend, a wave of nausea coursed through him. What was going on in there? Why was it taking so long?

Had it been eternity yet? Was he trapped in a continuous lapse of time in which all he would do was pace around the hall, like a caged animal in a zoo? Morbid thoughts of everything were consuming his brain. Perhaps it was only a dream. That must've been it, because everything that happened felt like a dream. So, why did this dream feel so real? How was he still feeling the sensation of petal-soft lips against his own, feeling moans vibrate in his throat?

Kankurou came to the conclusion that no, this was _not_ a dream. As unrealistic as it seemed, especially the part where Neji impeded on such a personal moment, it had been an actual moment in time, in history, even. Remembering it brought a blush creeping up Kankurou's face; he couldn't say he hadn't enjoyed it. He couldn't say that Gaara hadn't, either.

And, he concluded, since it had been consensual, it wasn't wrong. Therefore, Gaara was going to be okay, because the situation was right. That's how algebra worked – the situation was right, the chemistry was right, and thus, the outcome would be right. However, Neji impeding had been negative, and an odd number of negatives always equaled a negative.

But, who cared about algebra? In this case, positives would overrule negatives, squishing them into bloody pulps and thus reigning. Therefore, everything would be okay, with no exceptions whatsoever. It was this thought that calmed him a little, making his pacing slow so his racing heart could go back to it's normal eighty beats per minute.

How long had it been now? It annoyed even him how time-conscious he was being, but he noticed throughout his life that time tended to go against him. Perhaps it was a mental thing, but right now, he thoroughly believed that they were trapped in some dimension where time was slowed to extremes, making every minute seem like an hour. If so, then he had full reason to believe that while _technically_ Gaara was in that apartment for perhaps five 'minutes', it was more than enough time for Neji to initiate something.

It must've been his fear doing this to him. Yes, that would be logical. Gaara was going to be okay, he told himself. He was going to be okay. However, his mind could spew as many thoughts as it liked, but his heart would never believe it. At least, not until he actually saw the boy for himself. He had never been this afraid…well, not since…

_

* * *

The walk home from school had never seemed emptier. Kankurou had been somewhat accustomed to walking home alone; Gaara ended up falling victim to illness a lot, especially in this cold, damp weather. However, it was the third day in a row, and he was beginning to become concerned. While illness was frequent, it never lasted a long time, and if it did, the redhead would force himself to go to school anyways. _

_Because this had been routine for quite a while, Kankurou barely thought anything of it when he was absent, usually, but now that the sunspot of high school was gone, everything seemed very bleak. His classes were boring, and he had no one to tell anything of interest to even if they hadn't been. Temari wouldn't understand; she was off in her own world with her own friends. She even had another boyfriend, Kankurou remembered, but he hadn't heard much of him. If confronted about it, she told them he was too lazy._

_What a boring sounding boy, Kankurou couldn't help but think. He didn't see what his sister could fabricate from a relationship, especially in high school. It was pointless. Inwardly, he sighed. Usually, he would never go over things this much in his mind. He always talked about everything with Gaara, and now Gaara was gone. Kankurou made up his mind to go and visit him when he got home._

_Turning onto their street, he jogged the way down the block and sprinted up the stairs leading to his porch. Greeting the house (probably empty) with a loud "Tadaima!" he sat down and began his Algebra 2 homework. A few minutes later, he found it impossible to concentrate on x and y coordinates and decided he'd visit Gaara then._

_How bad could it be?_

_He was barely worried as he crossed over the lawn and knocked on the door of the Sabaku residence. Unsurprisingly, Kasuka, who had become practically an aunt to Kankurou, opened the door, her warm brown eyes widening minutely in bewilderment. _

"_Hello, Kankurou," she greeted, stepping aside so he could come in. "Gaara's really sick right now, sleeping even, but if you want to see him, you can."_

_If anything, those words worried him more than anything ever could. Gaara had never slept well and barely slept at night, much less during the day. The fact that he was now must've meant that he was extremely ill. Trying not to worry too much, he made his way into the living room, making a beeline to the lump of blankets with a fuzzy red patch on the couch and standing by it._

_There was a small gap in the thick, bright colored blanket, revealing his friend's face and one arm. He was pale, much paler than usual, which was unhealthy to begin with. At least usually he had some color. Now, he was practically gray. His hands were almost blue from discoloring, and the color only accentuated how thin he was, making the jut of his wrist seem even more obvious._

_It wasn't that Gaara was extremely underweight; he was just barely healthy, however. It was from being sick, but he had never been this sick in his life. At least, not since Kankurou had known him._

"_Is he feverish?" he mused aloud, bringing his hand to the smooth-skinned forehead. Though it was gray and cold looking, there was an immense heat beneath his fingertips, and that also bothered him. Was Gaara really okay? He was scared now, truly scared, and why was he breathing so shallowly?_

_He stood there for a long while, monitoring the redhead's breathing, concentrating so deeply, perhaps, that he barely noticed when it stopped until it was too late. Terror seized his chest and all of a sudden, he found it hard to breathe himself. He couldn't bring himself to call Kasuka for help, or even move to check if his heart was still beating._

'_Breathe…BREATHE!' he mentally willed, eyes wide and breathing labored. In a few seconds (hours, it seemed) though, the slight movement of Gaara's chest began again, and Kankurou let out a breath he didn't remember holding. He knew right then that it had been the largest fright in his existence._

* * *

Yes, fear _did_ do odd things to him, he concluded. He tended to panic in such a situation, and time would always go so slow…far too slow. There was never anything to take his mind off of things; this time was no different. His pacing became quicker, and now he was only pacing a good four feet on either side of the door leading to where The Trials were being held. 

Finally, a feeling of cold dread overcame him. His instincts were never wrong, and that frozen feeling had told him something enormous should happen. He needed to get help. He didn't care how irrational it seemed, he trusted his instincts. Setting off at a jog down the hallway (his pounding heart wouldn't let him go any faster) he barely heard the cry from where he had come from.

"KANKUROU!"

Was that…no, it couldn't be, his instincts…but were his…

Fighting his fragmented thoughts, Kankurou whirled around, eyes wide with panic and amazement at the sight before him. The light from the still-open door caused an angelic affect, silhouetting the figure standing by it. It couldn't be…but it was.

"GAARA!" He took off at a sprint, ignoring the protest from his stressed body, not stopping until he collided with the redhead, knocking him backwards and slamming the door shut in the process. He didn't care when people poked their heads out of other apartments to shake their heads in disapproval, but he could see why. The two men were now tangled in each other, him holding Gaara tightly to him, although, it was unnecessary, as he was pinning him beneath him.

"You're okay!" he cried uselessly, rolling off of the redhead so he wouldn't crush him. "I-I can't believe it! Did Neji hurt you?" He almost rambled more, but Gaara, held out a hand to silence him and began explaining.

"I-I told him to stop," he said excitedly, face flushed and eyes bright. "I pushed Neji away!"

Silence claimed the hall for a moment. Gaara had actually _stood up_ to Neji? It was amazing…fantastical, even! Kankurou almost didn't believe it, but Gaara was a horrible liar, and the way his face lit up was genuine euphoria, so he embraced him again, swaying gently. "I'm so proud of you."

"I-I'm proud of me, too," Gaara mumbled into his chest. "I…I think I broke it off!"

The words lingered in his head for a moment. _Broke it off…broke it off…broke it off…_

Where had Gaara gotten the courage? It was so…so…unreal… but that meant… "We can be together without worry!" he exclaimed, finding the same euphoria that visibly claimed his friend – no, _boyfriend_ – rush to his senses, feeling somewhat tingly. "This is wonderful!"

"I know! It's like…like I was possessed or something, I just…just told him to stop!" Gaara rambled, using his hands for emphasis. "I pushed him away 'n everything and he looked so shocked! I think I was possessed!" he repeated. Kankurou, however, just grinned.

"Nah, I don't think you were possessed. I think you were _exorcised._ C'mon, let's go out and celebrate. We can use…several different methods," he told the redhead, smirking. He stood up and offered a hand to the younger man, now blushing crimson and they stood up, walking out of the building together.

'Yeah…you've been exorcised…Neji was the ghoul, and you were haunted, but everything's okay now."

_…e x o r c i s e d…_

* * *

LYKE, OH. MY. GOD. I ACTUALLY COMPLETED A FANFIC. I'm actually not uberly happy with this, but at the same time I am…and…and…yeah. Feedback is appreciated! Wh00t! I finished something! 

1) Ibusuki is actually a city in Japan...it's in...Shikoku (sp?) I think, I looked it up...


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